Everybody Talks
by Hybridlovelies
Summary: "Ok you know how it's kind of an urban legend that celebrities will fake date each other for publicity reasons? Well my publicist wants me to fake date someone," Elena admitted, "in fact she's already agreed to it so I have no choice." "Who does she want you to fake date?" Caroline asked. "Niklaus Mikaelson." AU/AH fic
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Everyone! Back with a new story!**

**Taking a bit of a break effort wise from writing the complicated beast that was Timeless to spend some time in humor/romance land with this Human fic. Hope you guys enjoy! If you're a fan of Best of Me I'm sure you'll love it!**

**I'll probably be posting this one on LJ as well. It's kinda become my human fic corner of the world :)**

**Let me know what you think of this story!**

**Will update again soon.**

* * *

"This is the life."

"Excuse me? How is this the life?"

"Some sunshine, daiquiris, some peace and quiet. It's nice to get away from it all."

Caroline gave Elena an incredulous look over the top of her pink sunglasses. "Elena we're in my mom's backyard, in a couple of boring lawn chairs, drinking out of faded plastic 'Go Timberwolves' cups. How exactly is this the life Miss-I-spent-last-weekend-on-a-photo-shoot-in-Cabo?"

Elena adjusted the strap on her red bikini and rolled onto her back again. "Well it was for work. That doesn't count."

Caroline just shook her head. "Well last week I got to go all the way to the next county for work. It's too bad we can't all be famous actresses," she teased.

Any other girl in the world would probably be giving their left arm to be sitting next to the Elena Gilbert. But to Caroline Forbes, the brunette sitting next to her was just Elena. Her best friend since before they could walk. Long before Elena had grown into her looks and become a world famous actress/model/philanthropist.

"Want to trade?" Elena retorted.

"Hmmm," Caroline pretended to consider, "well I'll take the shopping sprees and vacations and cute guys, but leave out the fame. No thank you."

"My point exactly," Elena replied, "not being able to go anywhere without paparazzi breathing down my neck is hell. That's why I love coming to Mystic Falls. Everyone leaves me alone here. No one gives a damn that I'm famous."

"Oh Elena, so humble." Caroline teased.

"I wish Bonnie could be here," Elena said taking a sip of her now melted daiquiri.

"Me too," Caroline said, "but she's taking extra classes this summer. Still rocking it at medical school."

"I can't believe she's pre-med," Elena said.

"How's Jeremy?"

"He's good. One more year of art school for him."

"God time flies," Caroline remarked, "he's still studying illustration right?"

"Mhmm. I pulled a few strings and got him hooked up with a publisher. He might get to intern for this comic publisher over the summer."

"Certainly pays to have a famous sister."

"Caroline would you stop!"

"Sorry," Caroline said. The statement had come out a little harsher than she meant it. She couldn't help being a little jealous though. Both of her best friends were off doing things with their lives and she was still stuck in the same town they had all grown up in. Left behind.

Not that she hated her life in Mystic Falls. Everything had started well enough. She had taken some classes at the local college, not really interested in studying anything in particular. After a while she began working for the city council, planning and coordinating town events and fundraisers. Her free time was spent with the Memory Matrons or helping out with the cheerleading squad or spending time with her boyfriend. It was nice and she was happy.

But after a couple years, when she started hearing her friends talk about life outside of Mystic Falls, and all of the great things they were doing, she started to wonder if there may be more than her small town existence. She thought about getting out there and starting over. Maybe trying college again. But frankly she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. She didn't know anything outside of Mystic Falls. How did Bonnie and Elena manage to get out so easily while she felt trapped? She hated thinking it, but it was true. Even though she loved her little town, it no longer felt like enough.

"How's Tyler?" Elena asked, breaking Caroline out of her thoughts.

"He's good. Still taking law classes. Still living on his trust fund."

Tyler Lockwood was another friend of theirs from high school, and Caroline's boyfriend. They had started dating the year after high school. Tyler had stayed in Mystic Falls as well. He had a relatively easy life, since his dad was the Mayor and his parents were two of the richest people in town. He had no reason to leave his cushy set up in Mystic Falls.

"And you guys are still good?"

Caroline smiled. "Mhmm. We celebrated the big three a couple weeks ago."

"What'd you guys do?"

"Romantic dinner," Caroline told her, "oh and he bought me this."

Caroline held her wrist out to Elena to show off the silver charm bracelet hanging on her arm. It had a few different charms on it, a cheerleader, a heart, a few other symbolic mementos of her personality and their relationship. Caroline would have thought it was a nice and creative gift, accept for the fact that she had stumbled upon his father's assistant picking out the charms online three weeks ago. But she supposed it was the thought that counted. Not like shopping was really Tyler's thing.

Tyler was a good boyfriend to Caroline. Maybe not the most considerate at times, but he wasn't awful. He had been a complete jerk when they were in high school, the kind of guy that gave nerds swirlies in the boys bathroom and didn't care about anything but football and partying. But he'd grown out of it for the most part as they had grown up.

She was getting the feeling that Tyler was going to pop the question to her soon. They had been together for a long time and also, his best friend Matt Donovan had been not-so-stealthily asking Caroline was her ring size was and whether she preferred gold or silver. If she was being honest with herself, she didn't know how she felt about the idea of becoming engaged to Tyler. If he asked her, she didn't know if she would say yes or no.

"Are you hungry?" Caroline asked changing the subject. "It's almost dinner time."

Elena shrugged. "I could eat."

"Wanna go to The Grill?"

"I'd rather lay low tonight," Elena said.

"So pizza and chick flicks?"

"Sounds perfect," Elena beamed.

They grabbed up their towels and melted daiquiris and headed inside. Caroline grabbed a couple pizza menus from one of the drawers in the kitchen and handed them to Elena. There were only two places to order pizza from in Mystic Falls, one was kind of crappy and the other was only slightly less so. They ordered from the less crappy pizza joint and an hour later they were on the couch, indulging in some greasy, cheesy goodness.

"My nutritionist will kill me for eating all this fat," Elena said dabbing at her slice with a napkin.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Caroline said, grabbing the remote control to the TV and turning it on. There was a daily entertainment news show on the channel, with a spikey haired, Ryan Seacrest knock off bringing them all the latest Hollywood gossip.

"Hey it's you!" Caroline exclaimed. The show was in the middle of the segment about Elena, and some of the work she was doing with a new animal rights charity.

"Miss Gilbert starred as an animal rights activist back in 2009, and it seems her soft spot for all things cuddley extends off screen as well," the show announcer said.

"Aww those puppies look so cute!" Caroline gushed as a clip of Elena and some tail wagging Golden Retrievers played on screen.

"I wish they would spend a little less time on me and more on the organization. They're really doing a lot of good work, helping find homes for abandoned pets and strays."

"Well it's a celebrity fluff show," Caroline replied.

"Coming up next," the announcer continued once the segment had ended, "Notorious rocker Niklaus Mikaelson has found himself behind bars once again, this time on assault charges and public intoxication. Well nothing new there. We all have a soft spot for the bad boy, but how much is too much? We've got the story, after the break."

"Well I'm glad they put my charity segment next to the celebrity arrests segment," Elena said, grabbing another slice.

Caroline shrugged. "So which movie do you want to watch? Teen romantic drama? Nicholas Sparks? 80s vintage?"

"How about something non-romantic for a change? I can't do the romance thing right now."

Elena's bitter comment caught Caroline off guard. It was unusual for her friend to show so much passive aggression. She always kept her emotions and thoughts in check because of her career. All of Elena's emotion was usually saved for her acting. Caroline glanced at her knowingly.

"Ok spill."

"Spill what?" Elena asked.

"There is obviously boy drama that you are not telling me about."

"There isn't. That's the problem." Elena sighed. "I mean I don't really have time for all that right now between being on set and charity work and the press tour is starting the day after tomorrow. Plus it's kind of hard meeting someone genuine in that whole Hollywood crowd."

"But Elena, you haven't really dated anyone since Stefan, and you guys broke up like over a year ago."

"I know," Elena said, "But that took a lot of time to get over."

Elena and Stefan had been Mystic Fall's golden couple in high school. He was on the football team, she was a cheerleader, and they had been homecoming king and queen senior year. But a year ago, the couple realized it wasn't working out anymore. They had become two different people after high school and the long distance relationship wasn't doing them any favors, so they had parted ways.

"Ok then," Caroline said, "action movie it is. But, it has to have hot guys! Shirtless hot guys!"

"Of course," Elena giggled. Caroline selected a DVD from her shelf and popped it into the player.

* * *

Klaus groaned as he awoke. His mouth tasted dry and coopery and his back ached like he had been sleeping on a rock all night. His cheek was pressed down onto some hard, smooth surface, not his usual feathery pillow. He opened his eyes and slowly the gray bars of a jail cell came into focus. With another groan he sat up, too quickly, his head pounding. The clanging of keys announced the guard as he unlocked Klaus's cell.

"Good morning Mr. Mikaelson, you've made bail," the police officer said opening the cell door.

Klaus dragged a hand across his face and stood up slowly, his body protesting the movement. He walked out of the cell and followed the officer down the corridor and into the main area of the police station.

"Wait here, I'll grab your affects," the man said. A few moments later he returned with Klaus's leather jacket. He checked the pockets. Inside were his phone, wallet, and keys. And a pair of sunglasses. Thank goodness for small miracles, he thought. He slipped the shades over his eyes, to block out the blinding fluorescents of the police station.

"Sorry about everything sir, we're all big fans here at the station," the man said. Klaus looked up at the cop. He was young, probably not too far out of high school. Eager and bright eyed. Klaus had met a fair enough share of LA cops to recognize when someone had been around for a while and when someone was brand spanking new. This one was too eager and friendly to be a seasoned professional.

"Thank you," Klaus replied, "so where is the knight in shining armor who has released me from my prison?"

The boy-cop looked confused for a moment but then shook his head, catching on to the sarcasm. "Oh the person who posted your bond? Some brunette came in and put up the money, said she would be waiting for you outside."

Klaus rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. He knew exact what brunette came in to bail him out. Just perfect. He'd almost rather be back in the tank. He turned on his heels and made his way to the entrance.

"Hey Mr. Mikaelson!" Boy-cop called after him. Klaus turned around just as the kid caught up with him. "I know this isn't really professional but—"

"Where do you want me to sign?" Klaus finished. The cop produced a CD, one of Klaus's first, and a permanent marker. Klaus scrawled his signature on the cover and then headed out the door.

Outside a sleek, black BMW Gran Coupe waited for him by the curb. Klaus opened the door to the backseat and fell inside. The car pulled away as soon as he shut the door.

"Good to see you in one piece Mr. Mikaelson," the brunette greeted him from the driver's seat. She was looking at him from the rearview mirror, her perfectly manicure fingers tilting down her Chanel sunglasses so that she could see him better.

"Wish I could return the sentiment Katherine," Klaus quipped, "still running around doing Elijah's bidding I see."

Katherine pushed her sunglasses back into place and smirked. "Your brother is waiting for us back at his office. He won't want us to be late."

She stepped on the gas and the car lurched into the LA morning traffic. Thirty minutes later, they arrived at their destination. The car drove into the parking lot of a large silvery, office building. Katherine parked and Klaus staggered out of the car, the sound of Katherine's heels following him. He entered the building and took the lifts to the second floor.

"So Klaus is this your third or fourth arrest in the last 10 months?" Katherine baited as the elevator ascended.

"I know my brother enjoys your commentary dear Katherine, but could you do me a large favor and shut your trap."

Katherine chuckled. "I don't remember you being this uptight when we were sleeping together."

"Well darling I was drunk for most of that time," he quipped, "so I was in a better mood."

Katherine frowned, unable to think of a pithy comeback, which satisfied Klaus for the moment. The bell dinged and he slid forward as the doors opened.

"Good morning Mr. Mikaelson," the receptionist smiled at him.

"Morning Mandy," he said.

"It's Mindy," he heard her correct as he walked on. He entered the office at the end of the hall. Inside Elijah sat at his desk, his phone at his ear.

"Yes, thank you very much. I understand completely. This is a tremendous favor you will be doing for me and my client," Elijah said into the phone. He motioned for Klaus to sit and ended the call. Katherine followed him inside and shut the door behind them.

Elijah stood, asserting his dominance, but his tricks didn't work on Klaus anymore. Klaus wasn't a typical client that Elijah could just boss around. He'd seen this expression of Elijah's one too many times. Klaus simply slouched in the chair, waiting for his brother to begin his usual angry tirade.

"Notorious Niklaus Arrested, Niklaus Mikaelson: Big Bad in Big Trouble, Niklaus Mikaelson: How bad is too bad? Niklaus Mikaselon: Hitting rock bottom?" Elijah read from a stack of morning papers tossing them down on his desk one by one as he read. "This has got to stop Niklaus. The drunkenness, the arrests, the violence, it has got. To. Stop."

"It's part of my image," Klaus replied flippantly, "I'm supposed to get into bar fights and have an arrest record. My fans love it."

"Your fans will tire of it," Elijah said, "I'm tired of it and others are growing tired already."

"What are you talking about?"

"The studio called me up this morning, as soon as the story broke. Your third arrest is too much for them. No one takes you seriously. They are pulling you from the project."

Klaus sat up at attention, yanking off his shades. "They can't do that."

His shoulders dropped. Klaus had waited ages for the chance to make the move to acting. Most musicians couldn't transition from music to acting, but he hadn't cared. He wanted to be an actor. He wanted that role more than anything, had worked really hard to get it too. They couldn't just take it away from him like that.

"They can and they did," Elijah said, "your record label is growing wary as well. You miss press ops and photo shoots, you waste valuable time in the studio. They can't keep someone as volatile as you are acting; it's bad for business. This isn't the 70's Klaus.

"You're my publicist, do something! Be my brother. Help me."

"Maybe you should learn from this little lesson," Katherine chimed in, "it'll do you some good to realize you're not infallible."

Klaus glared out her. "If you think I even give a damn about your opinion you—"

"Enough," Elijah commanded, "Katherine is right. You need to learn some manners."

"Elijah—"

"But," Elijah said, "I think I have found a way to give you a second chance. Reboot your image."

"What is it?"

Elijah's mouth twisted slightly; as if he were trying to hide his amusement over a punch line for a joke he hadn't even told yet. Katherine was smirking as well. Klaus didn't like it.

"A girlfriend."

Klaus cocked his head curiously. "A girlfriend? That's easy."

"Not one of the usual whores you spend time with dear brother. I mean a real relationship, with friendship and commitment and love."

"Call me old-fashioned Elijah. But isn't love something that occurs naturally? It can't just appear out of nowhere."

"It can in Hollywood, if you play your cards right," Elijah said, "and I already have someone picked out for you."

"Never took you for a matchmaker Elijah. So who is the lucky girl that I am destined to fall for?"

"Elena Gilbert."

Klaus's face dropped. "You must be joking."

Elijah shook his head. "She'll be good for your image Niklaus. She's got a very upstanding reputation in the press. It'll do you some good to spend some time with someone like her. Someone to keep you grounded. And, she's going to be your co-star, so you might as well get to know her."

"So what you're saying is the studio will keep me around if I'm dating Elena Gilbert?"

"It's good press for the movie as well. Two star-crossed lovers of the screen dating in real life. Audiences will adore it."

"No need to be dramatic Elijah," Klaus sulked, "so what's in all this for her? If I'm as notorious as the press thinks I am, then who's to say I won't drag her down with me instead?"

"You won't. Not if you know what's good for you," Elijah warned, "plus you've agreed to donate two million dollars to her new charity."

"Two million," Klaus growled, "you go too far."

"You've dug your grave Niklaus. You will pay the price for your misdeeds."

Klaus glared at his brother. He didn't like this. He didn't like not being able to call the shots. But he wanted the movie. He wanted to break into acting and get away from music. He'd never liked the stage that much to begin with. Most of all, he _did_ want people to start taking him seriously.

"What do I have to do?" Klaus asked crossing his arms over his chest.

Elijah smiled. "We're flying to New York to meet Miss Gilbert and her people tomorrow, then accompanying her to Europe with her as she continues on her summer press tour. The studios are planning to announce the movie within the week, so you'll be able to talk that up as well. Additionally, the label is scheduling a couple shows for you while you're overseas."

"Sounds like a once in a lifetime experience."

"And Klaus, I need you to keep it together while on tour. No partying, no drinking, no drugs, and no women. You'll behave. You'll be a good and respectful boyfriend to Miss Gilbert and appreciate this great favor that she's doing for us."

"Fine, fine," Klaus said, hoisting himself from the seat, "I'm leaving now."

"The flight to New York leaves at eight in the morning. Don't be late."

Klaus waved away Elijah's words as he sauntered out of the door. Katherine followed him out again.

"How do you plan on getting home Klaus?" She asked.

Klaus rolled his eyes as she strutted triumphantly in front of him, car keys in hand, and pressed the call button for the lift. Thankfully she didn't talk to him as she drove him to his apartment.

He walked inside and made it up to his penthouse. The corner apartment had a gorgeous view. The morning sun streamed in through the windows. Klaus rarely saw the sun at this time of day, usually he was still passed out. He immediately walked over and shut all of his blinds, blocking out the light. All he wanted to do was collapse into his comfortable bed and go to sleep. His head was killing him though, so he made a detour to the bathroom to grab the bottle of aspirin before he passed out.

Klaus switched on the bathroom light and stood there, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He looked awful. His hair was matted, and his lip was cut and stained with blood, no doubt from the punches he had taken last night. His t-shirt was ripped and stained with booze and who knew what else. There were bags under his eyes and he looked like he hadn't shaved in days. He stood there, staring at himself in the mirror. His mouth drawing into a hard line at what he saw.

* * *

Caroline headed over to Elena's house early that morning. The two story suburban home had been left to Elena and her brother, Jeremy, after their parents had died in a horrible car accident when they were all still in high school. Even though she had a home in Beverly Hills, Elena kept the house in Mystic Falls, sharing it with her brother whenever they were both in town. Caroline rung the doorbell and Jeremy answered the door.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully walking into the house. Jeremy answered the door. Elena's brother definitely carried the completely unfair Gilbert good looks gene. When he was young he was awkward and scrawny but as he aged he filled out and spiffed up. He was tall and broad and had a smile that could stop traffic. Someone would probably mistake Jeremy for a model rather than a nerdy comic artist. As handsome as he was now though, Caroline had always seen him as a little brother.

"Hey Care," Jeremy greeted her, "Elena's in the kitchen and it's not pretty."

"What do you mean?"

"She's cooking."

Caroline shared a knowing look with Jeremy. "What happened?"

"I'll let her explain."

Caroline nodded and made her way into the kitchen. She found Elena at the counter, covered in flour, with a large spoon and mixing bowl in hand. There were broken eggs everywhere, smashed up blueberries, and a bottle of vegetable oil was leaking into the sink. Her friend greeted her with a smile.

"Hey! I'm making pancakes!" She announced.

Caroline sat down her purse and slid into the stool by the breakfast bar, trying to avoid getting any of the mess on her outfit.

"Ok, what happened?" Caroline asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Elena, you're baking. You only bake when you're _really_ upset."

Elena sighed heavily and put down her mixing. "My publicist called me this morning."

Caroline nodded. "What did she say?"

"Ok you know how it's kind of an urban legend that celebrities will fake date each other for publicity reasons?"

"Uh-huh…"

"Well my publicist wants me to fake date someone," Elena admitted, "in fact she's already agreed to it so I have no choice."

"Who does she want you to fake date?"

"Niklaus Mikaelson."

Caroline's jaw dropped. "Niklaus Mikaelson? Like notorious rockstar never-met-a-bottle-of-whiskey-or-a-slutty-girl-he-didn't-like Niklaus Mikaelson?"

"That would be the one."

"Why on Earth would your publicist want you to date _him_?"

"Well apparently his people called mine and practically begged us to agree to it. I guess his image needs a serious overhaul and they think dating me will help make it better. He's going to come with us on our press tour and we have to make appearances together and act like we're madly in love."

"So what's in it for you?"

"Well," Elena said, "he has agreed to give two million dollars to my charity."

"You must really love those puppies," Caroline said, "but I suppose it won't be completely awful. I guess he's attractive at least."

"Yeah. And he's my costar in my next film, so I have to get to know him eventually. "I just wish that—" Elena stopped, her eyes lighting up with another thought, "you should come with me!"

"Wait what?" Caroline blinked.

"Come on, I need someone there who is normal. I'll be surrounded by my manager and publicist and Klaus and his entourage, I'm going to need someone to keep me sane."

"Europe?" Caroline shook her head. "I can't go to Europe."

"Come on, what else do you have going on?"

"Hey!" Caroline shot back indignantly.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"I'll have you know that I have the Miss Mystic pageant I have to start planning for and kid's cheerleading camp to coordinate next month and my work at the city council office and not to mention Tyler. I think he might propose soon."

"Oh my gosh really?" Elena said, "I didn't know it was so serious with you guys. But I guess you _have_ been together forever."

"Exactly!" Caroline nodded. She had things going on! But she didn't quite feel the importance she was trying to exude.

"You're right. You have a life. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ask you to drop everything for me."

Caroline felt bad. She listed the reasons she gave in her head for not wanting to leave. But truthfully, none of them seemed that important to her. The pageant wasn't for months, and cheerleading camp could survive without her, and Tyler…

"What time is the flight tomorrow?"

Elena brightened. "Really?"

"Yes," Caroline replied, "I mean what girl doesn't want to be whisked away on a dream vacation to Europe. Granted, it would be better if you were a cute guy."

Elena threw her arms around Caroline joyfully and hugged her tight. "This is going to be so much fun! We'll shop and eat and there will be cute guys and it will be the best summer ever!"

"And who knows, maybe Niklaus Mikaelson will be a bad boy with a heart of gold and you two will fall in love for real!" Caroline predicted. She was a romantic at heart, and she couldn't forget the sadness in her friend's voice the night before as she spoke of her lackluster love life.

"I kinda doubt that," Elena said.

"You never know," Caroline countered in a sing-song voice, "love always happens when you least expect it."

That night Caroline and Elena joined Matt, Tyler, and Jeremy for dinner at The Grill; one last hang out session before Elena and Caroline departed for Europe. Elena announced to the group that Caroline would be joining her. Caroline hadn't missed Tyler's expression when he heard the news. She hadn't really gotten a chance to mention it to him yet. After dinner, he followed her home and sat in her room while she packed her things.

"Do you even have a passport?" He asked.

"Yes," she replied, "I got it that time you said we were going to vacation in Cancun and we never went."

She flipped though the outfits in her closet and tried to decide what she would need while she was away. She had never been anywhere before, she had no idea what she should bring.

"I just feel like the timing isn't right," Tyler said.

"I'll only be gone for like two months," she replied.

"Two months in a foreign country is a long time."

"It's not that long," she replied flippantly.

Tyler stood up and walked in front of her, taking her face in his hands. "What about us?"

Caroline sighed. "Like I said. It's only two months."

"Yeah, two months with hot celebrities and foreign guys. Especially Niklaus Mikaelson. I'm sure all of his rock buddies will enjoy hanging out with you."

"What do you not trust me?"

"No it's the guys I don't trust."

Caroline scoffed. "Please. You have nothing to worry about. I need this Tyler, I need to get out of Mystic Falls just for a little bit and experience something else."

"Yeah, yeah I get it," he said, "just promise me you're coming back to me after you've seen the world."

Caroline leaned forward and kissed him. "I promise. I'll be back in no time. You'll barely have time to miss me."

Tyler stayed for a while longer, before she ordered him to leave, much to his chagrin. "But it's our last night together! I was thinking we could…" His eyebrows shot up suggestively.

"I need my beauty sleep!" She giggled shoving him out the door with one last kiss.

But she couldn't sleep that night. The anticipation was too much. She was already fantasizing about all the things she would see and do in Europe: the parties, the clothes, the sights, for two short months the world would be hers for the taking.

The alarm buzzed loudly, waking Klaus from his repose. His eyes opened a fraction, glaring at the offending electronic informing him that it was six in the morning. He picked the clock up off the nightstand and hurled it at the wall, effectively silencing it.

"What was that for?" The girl in bed next to him murmured sleepily.

"Just go back to sleep Mandy," Klaus said rolling back over.

"It's Mindy."

* * *

Again he was broken away from his sleep by the sound of his phone vibrating angrily on his nightstand. He grabbed and slid the answer button. Couldn't he get a moment's peace?

"What?" He growled into the receiver.

"Where the hell are you?" Elijah demanded on the other in.

"Sleeping."

He heard Elijah's sharp intake of breath. "Get out of bed and get to LAX right this second. Your flight leaves in 30 minutes!"

Klaus's eyes went wide. So that was why the damn alarm went off so early. He hung up and jumped out of bed, grabbing the first clothes he touched and quickly putting them on.

"What's happening?" Mindy asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry love, you'll have to show yourself out," he said grabbing his wallet and slipping it into his back pocket. He didn't have time to pack. All the way to LAX in 30 minutes would be nearly impossible as anyways.

"Hey where are you going?" The girl in his bed shouted as he rushed out the door.

* * *

**So for those of you who didn't read the teasers...love? hate? do I have your interest piqued?**

**If I don't have you yet...stay tuned for the next chapter. I'm sure I'll get ya then.**

**follow me on tumblr at Hybridlovelies**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! Massive thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/followed the first chapter yesterday! I'm glad you all seem really excited about the story :)**

**Just a little sidenote: Any of the travel stuff you see that I've written, is based solely on the things I've Googled. Unfortunuately, I've never been to Europe so I don't know what's cool there. Caroline's cluelessness parallels mine when it comes to what to see and do. But Klaus's art love...I may have taught him a thing or two ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"You're late," Elijah said as Klaus rushed in.

"LA traffic," Klaus replied.

"You should have been here two hours ago. I have us on another flight. It leaves at ten."

"Time for a drink then," Klaus said, brushing past his brother and heading for the terminal bar.

"It's 8 o'clock in the morning," Elijah chastised.

"I'll order something with orange juice then."

Klaus took a seat at the bar and ordered a screwdriver.

"Sir we don't serve alcohol until after ten," the bartender replied.

Klaus narrowed his eyes. "Do you know who I am?" The bartender nodded. "Fantastic. Screwdriver. Make it a double."

The bartender turned away, defeated, and prepared Klaus's drink.

"Very humble brother," Elijah said.

"No point in being famous if you can't cash in on the perks," Klaus replied, laying down a few bills for his drink. "So where is the demon in heels? I'm surprised she's not here scowling at me too."

"Katherine wasn't invited on this trip," Elijah replied.

"Trouble in paradise?"

Elijah cleared his throat uncomfortably. "You know she and I are not together anymore."

"And yet you still keep her around."

"She's good at her job. It's strictly business."

Klaus nodded, though he was still skeptical, and took a sip of his drink.

Elijah pulled his laptop out of his carry on and set it up on the bar, "I have to get some work done."

Klaus watched Elijah turn on the computer and pull up a website on the screen. The colors flashed pink and bright, loud and scandalous headlines shouting out for their attention. Klaus chuckled. "I didn't take you for a celebrity gossip junkie brother."

"I would't laugh too hard," Elijah said, turning the screen toward him. Klaus read the headline.

"Beauty and the Bad Boy, a match made in heaven," Klaus read, underneath were two candid paparazzi photos; one of himself and next to it one of Elena Gilbert.

* * *

"The two met after one of his shows in Hollywood our sources say," Caroline read from the gossip rag she purchased before boarding, "In spite of being polar opposites, the unlikely pair have seem to hit it off. Niklaus will be following his new girlfriend around Europe this summer as she promotes her new movie, due out later this month. Will Hollywood's golden girl be able to polish up music's tarnished bad boy? Only time will tell."

"God those tabloids move fast," Elena mused.

A couple hours later they landed in New York. Caroline and Elena collected their luggage and hailed a cab. They were staying in Manhattan for the evening before heading across the pond the next morning. Caroline was excited to be in the city. She had never been to New York before.

Her face was plastered to the cab window as they sailed down Broadway toward their hotel. She marveled at the buildings and stores and people. When they arrived, they met Elena's manager in the lobby.

"Hey Jenna," Elena said giving the woman a gigantic hug. Jenna Sommers had been Elena's manager since she had started acting. She wasn't that much older than them, so Jenna would come hang out in Mystic Falls from time to time when Elena visited. Elena always said she was like the older sister or cool aunt she never had.

"Elena I missed you," she said squeezing her back, "and Caroline, great to see you again. So glad you'll be joining us this summer."

"Hi Jenna," Caroline returned. The three of them gathered up the luggage and checked in, heading up to their suite.

Caroline's jaw dropped at the size of the room. It was huge. It was more like an apartment than a hotel room. There was a living area, dressed in soothing pastel colors with sleek looking couches. A state of the art entertainment center hung against the wall, with a surround sound stereo. On the other end of the suite was a wet bar, complete with stylish martini glasses and a stainless steel mini fridge. Further back, Caroline could see through to the bedroom. A very comfortable looking king-sized bed awaited them, topped with a dozen colorful pillows in different fabrics and textures. Outside was a gorgeous view of the New York City skyline.

"We have to share a room tonight," Elena said, "but for the rest of the tour we'll be in adjoined suites. So you'll have your own space."

"No this is fine. It's great!" Caroline replied with enthusiasm.

"So where is my new boyfriend?" Elena asked Jenna.

"I know it sucks," Jenna replied, "but it is free press for you."

"Yeah and good for the charity," Elena said. It sounded like she had been through this conversation already. "So when do I get to meet the new love of my life? Since according to US Weekly, we've already been spotted canoodling at LA's hottest music venues."

Caroline and Jenna laughed together as Jenna scrolled through her blackberry to pull up Elena's schedule. "Well he missed his flight out of LA this morning, otherwise you would be meeting him for lunch."

"Hmm, no couth when it comes to punctuality definitely sounds like my dream man."

Jenna gave her a wry look. "You're meeting him for dinner tonight instead."

"Fine," Elena replied, "Caroline do you wanna come?"

"Won't I be third wheeling?" Caroline asked.

Elena shrugged. "It's not a real date and I'm sure we'll need the buffer."

"Ok," Caroline agreed, "count me in."

* * *

Caroline and Elena spent the rest of the day shopping on Fifth Avenue. A few fans would stop them every now and then, wanting to take pictures with Elena or get her autograph. Elena was very kind and gracious to everyone who said hello to her. Caroline found it a little overwhelming. She had never gone out with Elena anywhere other than in Mystic Falls, and everyone there left her alone. But out about in the public eye was a whole different world. Still, they managed to have a nice day.

They sat in the lobby bar of the hotel, enjoying a glass of wine, waiting for Elena's "boyfriend" to meet them. Jenna had called them earlier saying that Niklaus had made it to New York and the hotel in one piece and that he would be meeting them downstairs at exactly 8 o'clock p.m. to take them to dinner.

The girls sat there, both in new dresses they had purchased that day, waiting for the man of the hour to show his face.

"What time is it," Caroline asked smoothing out her dress. It was a black and white fringe dress, very hip and very New York, paired with her new black booties. Updating her wardrobe made her feel like she belonged more in the celebrity crowd with Elena. She felt less like a country-bumpkin thanks to her new clothes.

"Shoot I left my phone upstairs," Elena said, "do you mind if I go get it?"

Caroline shook her head, taking a sip of wine. "No, I'll wait here."

"Ok, two seconds," Elena said dashing off toward the elevators.

Caroline studied the crowd in the bar and continued to nurse her glass of Moscato while she waited for Elena to return. Gentle piano music mixed into the din of the conversation in the bar. Everyone looked so different from the people that inhabited Mystic Falls. They all seemed more worldly and mysterious. Men in black suits, women with their high heels and red lips, everyone drinking and flirting and laughing. She wondered what each of them were doing in the hotel, where they were from, and what their stories were.

"Hello there," she heard someone say next to her. She turned toward the deep English-accented voice and looked up at the man it was coming from, recognizing him immediately. "Have we met before?"

* * *

Klaus headed downstairs, grateful to be away from Elijah. At this point he would be willing to date the queen herself just to get his brother off his back. Elijah had done nothing but nag him all day long about cleaning himself up and being more respectful and not drinking so much. Klaus didn't see the point in any of this. He didn't understand how this plan of Elijah's was going to work. No one was going to give a damn about who he was dating, Elena Gilbert or otherwise. He was a fuck-up and he would always be a fuck-up.

But he did clean himself up a bit. The bruises on his face were fading fast and the cut he'd had on his lip was barely noticeable now. He had taken the time to shave and put on some new clothes that Katherine had sent to his suite for him, since he hadn't had time to pack in LA. She was a bitch, but at least she had style, and hadn't picked out anything that was completely heinous. He'd chosen a black pair of jeans, a white Henley t-shirt, and a black vest. A few necklaces that he usually donned were visible through the open neck of his shirt.

He walked out of the lift and headed toward the bar, where he was supposed to be meeting his "girlfriend." From that moment on, they would be pretending. They would be under constant watch out in public, paparazzi could be around at any moment, so he would have to play the part of smitten lover.

"You want to be an actor," Elijah had said, "so act. Consider it an exercise."

Klaus strolled up to the bar and looked around. Even though he had never met Elena before, he knew what she looked like. He'd have to have been living under a rock not to know Elena Gilbert. She had taken the world by storm with her dark, angelic looks and self-righteous ways, but he didn't see what the big deal was about her. His eyes scanned the bar crowd but he didn't spot her. He did however see a rather fetching blonde sitting alone. She was holding on to a glass of white wine, looking out at the crowd. Klaus watched her watching the people. She had such an amusing look on her pretty face.

His approach was slow and calculating. It never paid to seem too eager. As he moved toward her he wondered if she might be with someone. Maybe she had a boyfriend or a date. Not that something like that had ever stopped him before when he was in pursuit of a woman. However, there was a slim change that a girl _that_ beautiful could be unattached. He stood next to her, but she didn't seem to notice him. Odd.

"Hello there," he said and she turned to him, flashing her baby blue eyes in his direction. Once her full attention was on him, he gave her a winning smile. "Have we met before?"

"No," she replied, "I think I'd remember."

"Niklaus Mikaelson," he said extending his hand, "my friends call me Klaus."

"Caroline Forbes," she returned, "and I know who you are."

"You've heard of me? Fantastic," he replied.

"Well I'd have to have been living under a rock for the past few years not to know who you are," she quipped.

Klaus chuckled. She was fiery. He liked that. "Can I buy you a drink?"

She raised her wine glass in his direction. "I'm good for now, thanks."

Klaus raised his hand to the bartender and ordered a scotch. The man laid the drink in front of him and Klaus leaned up against the bar, facing Caroline. From across the room he thought she was beautiful, but up close she was absolutely stunning. Her features were soft and round, innocent yet alluring. His eyes travelled over her, from the top of her golden head down to her slim, fine legs that were crossed one over the other.

"So come here often?"

She laughed. "Do you have any lines that don't come straight out of a 1950s dating book?"

"Well love, old tricks are the best tricks."

One of her eyebrows curled up. "Is that so?"

"It is," he reaffirmed, " so tell me what brings you to New York? Business or pleasure?"

"Well I'm here for my friend's business, but my pleasure," she replied.

"I'm intrigued," Klaus replied leaning closer toward her, "what does your friend do?"

"Oh you might have heard of her. She's an actress."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Quite famous," Caroline replied.

"Well love I'm sure she's nothing compared to you."

Caroline laughed. Their faces were close; Klaus could feel her breath on his lips as she giggled. She was jelly in his hand, he could already tell. Perhaps he would ditch Elena, make apologies, and spend the night listening to this blonde moan his name. He let his hand drop to her knee, his fingers caressing her smooth skin. She looked down at his hand and then back up at him, arching an eyebrow.

"Well maybe you'll get the chance to meet her," Caroline purred.

Klaus's eyebrows moved up a fraction. He was ok with that. "You know what they say," he said, "three's a party."

Caroline pulled away from him. "Oh look, here she is now. Hey Elena, look who decided to show up."

Klaus stood up and turned around, coming face to face with Caroline's "friend" and his new "girlfriend", Elena Gilbert.

* * *

Caroline almost burst out laughing. The look on his smug face was priceless when he turned around and saw Elena. In any other situation, Caroline would have felt bad for shamelessly flirting with her friend's boyfriend, but this wasn't a real relationship so she didn't feel the least bit guilty. Besides Niklaus, or Klaus as he told her to call him, deserved the little trick. She couldn't believe what a dog he was, hitting on some woman in a bar when he was supposed to be meeting another woman for a date. Real relationship or not, that was just plain rude.

Elena, ever so calm and cool, extended her hand to Klaus and introduced herself. "Elena Gilbert, good to meet you."

Klaus accepted her handshake. "Klaus. I guess I'll be your boyfriend for the next few months," his reply was formal, without a hint of the mischief that had been there when he introduced himself to Caroline, "shall we?"

"My friend Caroline is coming with us. I hope that's ok."

Klaus spared Caroline a passing glance. "Fine by me. Perhaps I'll call my brother down and we can make this a foursome instead. I'm sure it will make things less awkward."

"Sounds good," Elena nodded, "I'll go grab a cab."

Klaus returned her nod and spun away, pulling his phone out of his pocket lifting it to his ear as he went. Caroline watched him. There definitely weren't any immediate sparks between Klaus and Elena.

"So that wasn't too bad," Caroline said following Elena out to the valet stand.

"I guess not," Elena replied.

A few moments later, Klaus appeared, followed by another man. He was dressed in a suit and tie, his perfectly coiffed brown hair swept back away from his face. The man was a stark contrast to Klaus's rugged, leather, rock and roll style.

"Ladies, this is my publicist and brother, Elijah Mikaelson, Elijah this is Elena Gilbert and her friend, Caroline Forbes."

His brother? Caroline studied the man as she shook his hand. The two of them didn't look anything alike.

"Wonderful to meet you," Elijah smiled.

Just then a yellow cab pulled up next to the curb and the four of them got in, with Elijah taking the front. Caroline sat in the middle between Klaus and Elena. She wasn't sure how she had gotten stuck in that particular seat.

"Where to?" The cabbie asked in a thick accent.

Klaus spoke up. "Where was it that you made reservations again Elijah?"

"Zapatista," Elijah answered, giving the driver the address.

The four of them sat in silence on the cab ride over. When the car stopped, they filed out and Elijah paid the driver then stepped up to guide them into the restaurant. The place was quite busy.

The restaurant was an upscale Mexican cantina. The walls were beige and brick, with green, red and blue geometric décor. The low light gave the atmosphere a warm amber glow. Every table seemed to be filled. Caroline wondered how they were going to get a seat. She hoped they wouldn't have to wait for long. Her stomach and been growling during the ride over.

"Reservation for Mikaelson," Elijah said to the hostess.

The woman wore a sleek white dress, with a red belt. It was much more chic than a typical Tex-Mex restaurant in Mystic Fall where the waiters wore cheesy sombreros and bolo ties.

"Of course Mr. Mikaelson. We have you at our star table. Please follow me."

They followed the hostess through the restaurant to one of the elevated booths near the back. Caroline and Elena stepped up on one side of the booth, while Klaus and Elijah slid in on the other, putting Elena and Klaus in the middle next to each other. The waiter came to their table and introduced himself, handing out menus and listing off specials for the night.

"Can I take your drink orders to get you started?"

"I'll take a scotch," Klaus said before anyone else.

"He'll have a seltzer," Elijah corrected. Caroline saw Klaus glared at Elijah.

"Scotch," he repeated, "make it a double."

Elijah gave the nervous looking waiter a polite smile, "Could you please give us a few moments?"

Caroline threw Elena a look and Elena shrugged.

"So Klaus, have you been to Europe before," Elena asked cracking open her menu.

"I'm from England love, of course I've been to Europe."

"So what's your favorite city?"

"Paris. Rome. The Italians know how to have a good time." Klaus's eyes remained on the menu as he answered.

"Klaus spent some time studying art in Prague when we were younger," Elijah interjected.

"Really?" Elena said, "Are you an artist?"

"No, I'm a musician. One who is trying to break into the acting business and is in desperate need of a scotch."

"If you want to be an actor, why don't you at least act like you're interested in what Miss Gilbert has to say?" Elijah chided.

"Elijah do you think you could possibly inject any more romance into this scenario than you already have?" Klaus scoffed. "I could do it better with a scotch."

Elijah closed his menu and set it down. "Very well, if you would like romance…Caroline?" Caroline's head snapped up in attention. She had been focusing on her menu, hoping to stay out of the crossfire. "Would you care to join me at the bar for a drink? Give my brother and Elena some time to get to know one another."

Caroline looked over at Elena who gave her a small smile, telling her to go ahead.

"Sure," Caroline replied, slipping out of the booth and following Elijah over to the bar. They each took over two vacant white bar stools. Caroline set her clutch bag on top of the bar and the bartender approached them.

"Can I get a glass of Pinot and…?"

"Pinot is fine for me as well. Thanks," she replied.

"So Caroline, what do you do?" Elijah asked once they had their drinks.

"I work for the Mayor's office in Mystic Falls. Mostly planning events and things for the town," she answered.

"Do you enjoy your work?"

Caroline shrugged. "It gives me something to do and pays the bills. How long have you been Klaus's publicist?"

Elijah smirked. "Oh I've been running around after Klaus and cleaning up his messes all our lives."

"So this whole thing with Elena, would be you cleaning up another mess?"

"Yes," Elijah said, "Klaus doesn't understand that he can't just flit around doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He doesn't understand that there are consequences for his actions. I'm trying to prevent him from suffering any of those consequences."

Caroline nodded thoughtfully, taking a sip of her wine. "Maybe that's the problem."

* * *

Klaus sat there next to Elena, watching Elijah and Caroline at the bar. He wondered what they were discussing. No doubt Elijah was telling Caroline how out of control he was, getting the girl to be on his side. Then the three of them could gang up on him and attempt to teach him the manners Elijah so wished for him to cultivate.

"Thank you for the money you gave to my charity," Elena said pulling his attention back to her, "it was very generous of you."

"That was my brother's doing. Not mine." Klaus sulked. The waiter came back to check on them and Klaus was able to order the scotch he wanted.

"I don't think Elijah wants you to be drinking," Elena remarked.

"He usually doesn't," Klaus replied, taking a long gulp of the alcohol, "but he's not here to stop me."

"If you're not going to take this seriously—"

"Take what seriously?" Klaus said sitting up and looking at her, "our fake relationship? Look sweetheart, we'll hold hands in public, I'll smile with you in photos, and escort you to events and we'll look like a perfectly happy couple. A match made in Hollywood."

"You think that's all that this is Klaus? We have to actually look like we're in love. I mean you're sitting there sulking while people are starring at us. Not exactly great for our story."

"No one is watching us," Klaus replied.

"Oh really? Look around."

Klaus scanned the restaurant. He noticed more than a few nervous eyes flick away as they met his gaze. He looked back over to Elena, who had an I-told-you-so expression on her face.

"Fair enough," he conceded, "so what's the plan then love?"

"Maybe we should at least _try_ to get to know one another," Elena suggested.

"I don't see the point," Klaus said, "but don't worry love. I don't ever know much about any of the women I date."

"Don't sound so proud," she muttered.

Klaus reached over and put his arm on the back of the seat around her, his other hand coming up and brushing her hair behind her ear. He smiled and purred into her ear. "Look, I can play for the cameras, if that is what you want me to do, but there is no reason we need to be friends. We're different people, you and I."

Klaus's voice was thick with charm, but his words were empty and cold. He watched Elena's expression change from disgusted to flirtatious in less than a second. She touched the top of his arm gently, and looked into his eyes. She was all in now, playing the game too. And she was very good at it, but Klaus felt nothing.

"Fine with me."

* * *

Dinner turned out to be horrible and awkward, according to Elena. Caroline had spent the rest of the evening with Elijah. They had left the new couple alone to get to know one another, while they ate their dinners at the bar. Elijah was pleasant; the conversation consisted of nothing but small talk and comments about the weather and plans for the tour. The four of them had split ways as soon as they made it back to the hotel. Once they had gotten up to their room Elena had ranted and raved about Klaus nonstop.

"He's rude and selfish and an asshole," Elena complained, " There's not a single good thing about him. I can't believe Jenna got me into this mess. He's going to screw us both I just know it."

Caroline sat, crossed legged on the bed watching Elena pace back and forth. "Well he seems to hate the whole situation as much as you do," she mused.

"Well he should at least do me the courtesy of being professional about it!"

"Elena," Caroline said in effort to calm her down, "professional? Ok, he's a person. This is supposed to be a relationship. You guys are going to have to work together eventually."

Elena scoffed. "Whatever. I can pretend when we're out in public but other than that I don't want anything to do with him. You weren't sitting with him having to put up with his scotch soaked attitude through an entire dinner."

Caroline shrugged. She didn't really know what else to tell Elena. Yeah, Klaus was testy and unnerving, but there really wasn't much to be done. They would just have to make the best out of a bad situation.

After not much sleep, Caroline awoke early the next morning so they could catch their flight to Europe. Their first stop was Berlin. They had a nine-hour flight and then as soon as they landed, Elena would have to get ready for a movie premiere that she was set to attend that evening. It was a long day ahead of them. The car picked them up at the hotel, along with Elijah, Klaus, and Jenna and took them to JFK.

Caroline was sitting across from Klaus on the drive over. He looked tired and hung over in his jeans and gray t-shirt. She had seen him knock back at least three glasses of scotch the night before and there was no telling what he had been drinking when he got back to his hotel room. Before bed last night, Caroline had borrowed Jenna's laptop and had done some Google-ing.

She found out Klaus had been arrested three times: Once for cocaine possession, once for driving under the influence, and the most recent for assault and public intoxication. All three times he received fines and minor jail sentences. In addition to his arrest record, he was constantly a subject of gossip columns for dating and bedding a string of models and actresses all throughout Hollywood. Then there was the music. Half of his shows were cancelled because clubs no longer wanted to deal with his violent outbursts and his fans.

Caroline had no idea why Jenna had ever thought it would a good idea to have Elena hook up with him. They were complete opposites in every way possible. There was no way people would ever believe that the two of them were an item. Elena was so focused and serious about her work and all Klaus seemed to care about was boozing and punching every one he could lay his fists on.

The car dropped them off and the four of them strolled into the busy airport. Klaus remained near Elena, for the sake of appearance. They knew there would be cameras around them once they made it to JFK. Caroline caught a few people out of the corner of her eye snapping cellphone pictures. Klaus stayed with Elena, occasionally holding her hand or throwing his arm around her, until they boarded then disappeared. He wasn't even in his seat during take off. It was amazing, but they did look like a real couple. Caroline had to give them kudos on both of their performances.

"I'm gonna go talk to Jenna for a bit about tonight," Elena said once they were in the air and the captain had switched off the fasten seat belt sign.

"Ok," Caroline smiled, happy to enjoy having their roomy first class seats to herself for a bit. She reached into her bag and pulled out the German guidebook she had purchased in the airport bookstore. She didn't know anything about Germany. Even though they would only be there for a couple days, she still hoped she would have the chance to see some of the more famous sights. But to do that, she needed to figure out what the sights there were to be seen in Berlin.

"What are you reading?"

The voice startled her. She looked over to see Klaus sitting next to her in Elena's vacant seat, the ever-present lazy grin plastered across his face.

"Where did you come from?"

"London, originally. Then kind of all over before my family made their way over to America," he replied.

Caroline shot him a look. "I meant just now. You weren't around for takeoff."

"Oh you noticed that I was gone did you?" Caroline scoffed and his grin grew even bigger. "So what are you reading?"

She flipped the cover toward him. "_Exploring Germany. _Trying to pick out some things to see while we're there."

"That book is rubbish. I know of a much better way to experience German culture."

"Oh yeah?" Caroline retorted, "and which way is that?"

"With me," he replied. She scoffed again and turned back to her book. "I'm serious love, I've been to Berlin many times. It's one of my all time favorite cities. There are great clubs and bars and nightlife—"

"Not interested," Caroline interrupted, "I'd rather experience the art and culture and history."

"Well I can show you that too."

"Klaus, I need you," Elijah called over to him from his seat a few rows up. Caroline sighed. Saved by the Elijah.

Klaus cast an irritated look in Elijah's direction and then turned to Caroline again. "I'll be right back love."

"I'll be counting the seconds," she quipped.

Caroline was thankful that Elena came back to her seat before he could return and she was able to spend the rest of the flight Klaus-free.

When they landed, Klaus stepped up and played dutiful boyfriend once again, taking Elena's bag from her for the paparazzi to see and the gossip rags to speculate about. He forced himself not to roll his eyes at Elijah's nod of approval as they made their way out of the terminal. That night he accompanied Elena to a movie premiere. He smiled, played his role again on the red carpet and throughout the screening, and then promptly went to get rip roaring drunk at a quiet pub as soon as the event had finished. Screw Elijah and his rules of conduct.

It was early the next morning when Klaus staggered into their Berlin hotel and made his way to the lifts. He had spent the night with a rather delicious Swedish tourist, or was she Swiss? Klaus licked his lips and shook his head. It didn't matter, it wasn't as if he would be seeing her again. He thought he might as well enjoy the easy pickings while he still could. Once more people found out his new "relationship", the whole seduction process would be a little harder to fulfill.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal Caroline on the other side. She was dressed in a yellow sundress with a gray cardigan. She frowned as she saw Klaus standing in front of her.

"It's a little early for a rockstar isn't it?" She quipped, "Let me guess…walk of shame?"

Klaus chuckled. "Nothing shameful about it love."

Caroline rolled her eyes, walking into the elevator before the doors shut again. Instead of getting off on their floor, Klaus remained inside, following her down.

"So where are you off to today?"

"Sight seeing," Caroline said.

"My offer still stands," Klaus said, "I could be your guide if you wish."

Caroline ignored him. The elevator reached the lobby, the doors opening once again, this time Elijah was standing on the opposite side.

"Good morning Caroline. Klaus." Elijah greeted them as they exited the elevator. Klaus noticed the judgmental twitch of Elijah's eye, but chose to ignore it. "Where are you off to this morning?"

"I was just going out to do some sight seeing," Caroline repeated.

"And I was just telling Caroline about some great spots I could show her," Klaus added.

"Well that certainly sounds like a marvelous idea," Elijah said, "in fact, if you don't mind, I don't get to spend enough time in Berlin perhaps I'll accompany you."

"Elijah," Klaus said, "you've never been one for sight seeing."

Elijah smiled. "Well I've always enjoyed new experiences. Perhaps Elena would like to come as well?"

Caroline sensed the tension as her gaze shifted between the two brothers. "Sure," she said, "I'll go see if she wants to come."

Caroline walked back into the elevator and headed back upstairs to get Elena, leaving Klaus with Elijah.

"I know what you are trying to do Niklaus," Elijah said.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Leave Caroline alone. I see you hitting on her. She's a nice girl and not here to be your new play thing. Besides, you're supposed to be dating her friend, Elena."

Klaus gave him a tight smile. "How could I forget?"

* * *

In the time that it took Caroline to retrieve Elena, Klaus had gone upstairs to change into fresh clothing. He felt like a wreck, not having slept much the night before, but he was making an effort not to look it. He grabbed a double espresso from the coffee bar in the lobby and then the four of them headed out for their sightseeing tour.

Their first stop was the Berlin Cathedral. The four of them got out of the taxi and made their way to the massive building. The brown-gray stone and green domes stood ominously in the middle of the sunny day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Klaus squinted and sighed as they stood at the front and looked up at the building. Cathedrals, while beautiful, were boring to him.

"What the matter?" Caroline nudged him, "Afraid that you'll burst into flames if you go inside?"

Klaus fell in step beside her as walked through the doors. "Cathedrals never interested me much," he replied, "actually this isn't really a Cathedral."

"Um, it looks like a cathedral to me," Caroline retorted.

"Don't let the arches and chapels and organs fool you," Klaus replied. Caroline walked along, her hands brushing across the wood of the pews and her eyes darting around the view above. "It's never been a cathedral in the actual sense of the term because it's never housed a bishop."

Caroline glanced at him. "So then why do people call it a cathedral?"

"It's a colloquialism," he answered, "the best part is the Hohenzollern Crypt. Come on, I'll show you."

Klaus quickly grabbed her hand before Elijah or Elena could notice and led her away, down to the crypts.

"I don't think I want to see a crypt," Caroline said, trying to tug her hand from his grasp.

"Come on," he teased as the walked down the stairs, "where is your sense of adventure?"

Klaus let go of her hand as the reached the bottom of the steps. The crypt was different that Caroline thought it would be. Everything was out in the open. She expected coffins buried into walls, bones, and cobwebs hanging all around. But there were rows of beautiful coffins made of stone and metal and wood. Some were simple while others were richly decorated with golden angels or fine sculptures. A few were covered with velvet or brocade.

"Wow ok not as scary as I thought it would be," Caroline mused, studying one of the coffins.

"There are 94 residents in the Hohenzollern Crypt, the dead out in plain view for everyone to see unlike any other crypt," Klaus told her, " it's rather amazing most of them lasted through the War damage."

"Hmmm," Caroline hummed as she continued to walk through, exploring the coffins, with Klaus following close behind.

After the Cathedral, the group continued to explore what was listed in Caroline's guidebook as "Museum Island". They chose the Alte Nationalgalerie as their next stop. Klaus continued rambling on to Caroline about the history of the museum to her as they climbed the many steps up the entrance. He sounded like a professor rather than a hungover musician.

"Casper David Friedrich," Klaus announced to Caroline, indicating one of the paintings that hung on the wall, "one of my favorites."

Caroline looked at the painting of the man staring with his back to the viewer, staring out at the foggy landscape.

"Why is that?"

"I enjoy landscapes," he replied simply, "and Friedrich's work is always allegorical. It's more than just a man standing on a rock, looking out at the horizon." Klaus came up behind her his chest brushing against her back. "You don't see the man's face. You can't tell if he's terrified or exhilarated by the vastness before him."

Klaus reached up and brushed his hand across her arm. A small shiver went down her back. Caroline cleared her throat and spun out of his reach. He frowned to himself.

"You know you could be making all of this up and I would never even know."

"Do you think I'm making it all up?" He countered stepping toward her again.

Caroline's mouth twisted up into a teasing smile. "No, but you _are_ being a showoff."

"Forgive my brother," Elijah said from behind them, "he always like to let everyone know how much more intelligent he is than the rest of us. Shall we?"

Elijah held out a hand, ushering Caroline onward. She moved forward and caught up with Elena, linking her arm through her friend's as they continued to look at the paintings. Elijah gave Klaus another warning look and Klaus glowered back at him as they followed the girls.

They ate a late lunch at another museum and Caroline decided to call it a day when she realized that while seeing all the art was cool, she was a little bored with the museums. They tried to find a cab that could shuttle them back to the hotel, but when they couldn't get one for the four of them, the group was forced to split up. Caroline rolled her eyes and laughed to herself when Klaus shoved her into a cab and slid in next to her, forcing Elena and Elijah to share another car together.

Caroline stared out of the window as they rode down the street. She sighed to herself, wishing that they had time to see more of Berlin. It was an interesting city, maybe not the most romantic in the world, but it was full of history. Caroline had never even heard of some of the things mentioned in her guidebook and she wished she could have a chance to see them.

"Something tells me you didn't get your fill of sight seeing," Klaus remarked as if reading her mind.

"No," she confirmed, "but I guess we don't really have that much time. I need to pack up for tomorrow."

"Are you sure? We could go to just one more place?"

Klaus had a mischievous look in his eye. Caroline shook her head. As appealing as the idea sounded, she really had no desire to spend anymore time in the company of Klaus the know-it-all.

"So how long have you known Elena?" Klaus asked. Caroline blinked at him. Was he asking her a personal question?

"Um, we grew up together," Caroline replied a little stunned, "In Virgina. Mystic Falls."

"I thought so. You don't really seem like the celebrity hanger-on type," Klaus said.

"Thanks. I guess that's kind of a compliment."

Klaus shifted over closer to her and put his arm over the back of the seat. "Tell me all about yourself Caroline. Every detail. What you do? Your hopes. Your dreams."

Caroline laughed. "Why do you want to know?"

"You interest me," he replied.

"Why?"

"Because you do."

"That's not an answer," she remarked with a little shake of her head. "I may not know all about art and history, but I'm still too smart to be seduced by you."

"Well that's why you interest me," he responded with a dimpled smile.

Caroline straightened up, trying to lean away from him and hide her smile. It was difficult to be mean to him when he was being so charming. Sleazy, but still charming.

"You know, the person you should be trying to get to know is Elena. Your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Klaus replied pulling away. "And I don't really care to associate with hypocritical self righteous actresses."

"Hey," Caroline said, "that's my friend you're talking about. You aren't exactly making it easy on her either."

"Making it easy for her wasn't part of the contract love."

Caroline sat back in her seat, folding her arms across her chest. The cab took a hard corner, the inertia causing her to lean a bit closer to Klaus for a moment.

"Maybe Elena is a little self righteous sometimes, but she isn't a hypocrite. And anyways it's better than acting like a careless asshole all the time. She's a good person. That's what matters."

"Well Caroline," Klaus said, "without monsters like me, saints like Elena wouldn't have anyone to bestow their goodness upon. She can play the angel, I'll be the devil, and the world will keep spinning round."

The cab lurched again, this time in the opposite direction. The two of them were silent for a bit. Klaus had said too much. For some reason, his mouth had just run away with him. He wanted to make her understand that he wasn't the bad guy in this situation at all. He was doing what he had to do; to save himself and everything else he had riding on his shoulders. He had no other choice. But now he had made her uncomfortable. He needed to lighten the mood.

"So, Caroline, you never did answer my question," Klaus said to change the subject.

They made it back to the hotel, Klaus still following Caroline up to her room, asking her questions and annoying the hell out of her. His mood had shifted in the cab from seductive to serious to sarcastic. Caroline was finding it difficult to keep up. She slipped her key card into her door and walked into her room. Klaus followed.

"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?" Caroline said trying to push him back out the door. But Klaus slipped out of her reach and shut the door, walking further into the room.

"What's the matter Caroline? Don't trust yourself alone with me in your hotel room?"

Caroline laughed him off again, at the same time her phone rang inside her purse. Usually, taking a cell phone overseas would have been much too expensive, but she decided to get one of those international plans so she could still call her mom and Tyler. And speaking of…

"Hey Tyler," she said answering the phone.

"Hey babe, how's Berlin?"

"Who's that?" Klaus interrupted. Caroline swatted him away, trying to shush him as she answered Tyler.

"It's great, I went to some museums today."

"But Caroline has a true under appreciation of the arts," Klaus said.

Caroline gave him an annoyed look.

"Who's that?" Tyler asked.

"Just some drunk guy in the hall," she replied. Klaus returned her minor insult with a wry smile. "Look can I call you later?"

"Uh yeah I'll call you when I get home from class. I miss you. I love you."

"I love you too," Caroline ended the call before Klaus had a chance to chime in again. She hadn't spoken to Tyler much over the past two days and she knew he was already jealous of all the non-existent European guys she was hanging around. The last thing she needed was for him to overhear Klaus and pick a huge fight.

Klaus sunk down onto the bed. "Who was on the phone?"

"Tyler," she replied, "my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yep," she replied with a haughty smile.

"Funny you didn't mention him before." Klaus's tone had turned a bit darker, Caroline looked up at him, seeing the suspicious frown on his face. His mood had changed yet again.

"Well you never asked." It was a weak answer and she knew it, but she gave it all the same.

"That's a bit suspect don't you think love?"

Caroline frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Well you've been spending all this time with me since you left but you have a guy waiting for you back home?"

"Actually, I haven't been spending time with you. _You_ keep following _me_ around."

"Don't pretend that you don't enjoy it," Klaus said with a Cheshire cat smile.

"I don't," Caroline rebuffed coming to stand in front of him, "let's get this straight once and for all. I'm. Not. Interested okay? You're dating Elena, not to mention you're a drunken, lazy, narcissistic ass who doesn't give a damn about anyone else beside himself. The best you can hope for is my friendship, but your really riding a fine line at that."

Klaus pursed his lips in annoyance, glancing off to the side and back again. He glared at Caroline, who met his stare, her arms crossed over her chest. Then his expression changed. The angry face melted away and the over-confident smirk returned to his lips. It was unnerving.

"We'll see," was all he said before he left her room.

* * *

**Another loooong chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed it. And I hope you guys enjoyed Klaus and Caroline's first couple of interactions. Klaus is really bad at trying to connect with people and be sincere, so if it's all sounds forced, it's because it's supposed to. But he still has his moments :)**

**I hope all my German readers weren't cringing at my descriptions. I did my best!**

**Review please!**

**And follow me on tumblr at Hybridlovelies**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you thank you for all the love and reviews and follows after the first couple of chapters. Good to know I have most of you hooked already. Speaking of...how are you all feeling about the longer chapters? Usually I post chapters between 2500-3500 words but for this I've been hitting at least 5000 per chapter. Too long or are you guys good?**

**Well anyways, hope you enjoy :)**

**And to Vanja, one of the guest reviewers...yes that line was totally from Crual Intentions! I had been watching it earlier that day when I wrote that scene haha Good catch ;)**

* * *

Early the next morning, the group headed off to Prague. Caroline had purchased yet another guidebook, reading up on the Czech Republic during the trip. She never realized how enclosed she was within the limits of Mystic Falls. Either she paid even less attention in school than she thought she had or the public school system had seriously failed her.

They arrived around noon, settling in to yet another hotel. All of them were starting to look the same. Light and airy with nice big beds and beautiful views. Luxurious showers with twelve different massage settings. But it was all still a novelty to Caroline. She was enjoying every second of how the other half lived.

She had her own room yet again, even though it was a bit smaller this time, it was still bigger than her bedroom back home. Klaus and Elijah were a few floors above them. Caroline sent up a little thank you prayer to the universe for that one.

She'd felt a little uneasy around Klaus since the day before. In truth, she felt a little bad. The more she thought about it the more she realized she didn't need to be so harsh to him about his interest in her. She was no stranger to rejection. But at the same time he did need to get it through his head that she wasn't going to go for him. She liked him, against her better judgment, but she had a boyfriend. Not to mention he was technically dating her best friend, even if it was a fake relationship.

There was a knock at her room door and she walked over to open it. Elena was standing on the other side and Caroline felt a slight twinge of disappointment, but she quickly shook that off.

"Feel like doing some shopping?"

Caroline tilted her hear sideways. "Have you met me? I always feel like doing some shopping."

Elena giggled and Caroline grabbed her purse, slipping into some pink flats that matched her floral sundress. Once her door was locked, she followed Elena to the elevator. Jenna was just stepping out of the elevator as they walked up.

"Where are you girls off to?"

"Shopping," Elena smiled.

"Ok," Jenna said, "but can you take Alaric with you?"

"Alaric's here?"

"Yeah," Jenna replied. Caroline didn't miss the dreamy smile that flashed across Jenna's face. "He flew in yesterday. He's gonna stay with us for the rest of the tour."

Elena gave Jenna a teasing nudge, agreeing to take Alaric, and she and Caroline got into the elevator.

"So who is Alaric?" Caroline asked.

"He worked as a body guard for me the last time I was in Europe. Jenna fell head over heels," Elena explained as she texted Alaric to meet them downstairs, "I guess she arranged for him to work with us again."

"Work with us or work with _her_?" Caroline's eyebrows waggled. "Why do we even need a body guard anyway? Do you think someone might try to assassinate you?"

Elena giggled at Caroline's over-dramatic expression. "No. It's not for that. They're just good to have around. If fans get to crazy, usually you can get the body guard to step in and be the bad guy so they'll leave you alone."

They stepped off the elevator and a couple minutes later Alaric, or Ric as he told Caroline to call him, met them in the lobby. He was tall and a bit scruffy looking, but handsome.

"He doesn't look like how I would think a body guard would look," Caroline whispered to Elena. When Jenna and Elena said bodyguard, she was expecting a giant man with huge, rippling muscles, black sunglasses, and an angry scowl. Alaric had a warm smile and seemed quite laid back. He chatted a bit with them but let them have their space to stroll and shop.

"I know right," Elena agreed, "he's a really nerdy history buff though. He moved from America to Europe to work on his master's degree and is doing the bodyguard thing to pay the bills. But trust me, he's really badass. He has a black belt and can take down guys twice his size."

Elena decided they should go to the Palladium, a huge shopping mall right in the center of the city. Caroline felt like she had been transported back to the States. The mall was huge and she recognized most of the stores as popular brands back home. After walking around and browsing through a few stores, a crowd started to gather. Word seemed to be spreading that there was a celebrity sighting at the Palladium and tourists and citizens alike were coming around to catch a glimpse. A few Czech fans who recognized Elena began approaching her, asking for pictures and autographs. Elena was gracious once again and allowed a few people to snap a few photos. Ric made sure to keep a safe distance, watching over the two of them.

But then more and more fans started to approach. The crowd was growing bigger and bigger. Caroline was being shoved and elbowed by people trying to get to Elena.

"I think we should probably make our exit," Ric said to Elena. She nodded and glanced at Caroline, who shook her head as well.

Ric took Elena's arm and proceeded to ask the crowd to step back and make way for them. He kept repeating it over and over in English as well as Czech, holding out his arm to create a path. Caroline followed close behind, keeping her hand on Elena's back as they shoved their way through the growing crowd. She could her Ric, with his cell phone to his ear, calling for a driver from the hotel to come pick them up.

The situation only seemed to get worse as they made it outside. It was as if the fans realized that the object of their attention was trying to escape and they needed to act fast. People were yelling and screaming Elena's name, paparazzi had landed and started snapping photographs. Caroline's head went back and forth as she tried to keep up with Elena and Alaric and fight off the mob.

Someone knocked into her and she tripped over her heels. She tried to recover but then she was bumped from the other direction and her shopping bag was knocked out of her hand. She watched as her bag was trampled and she was pulled along in the crowd. She turned and saw that she had lost Elena and Alaric. They were far ahead of her now.

"Elena!" She called out, "Elena!"

But she couldn't get their attention. It wasn't much use. Everyone was calling Elena's name, her shouting wouldn't be distinguishable over the rest of the crowd's. Someone grabbed her by the arm. She started and jerked around to be met by a pair of familiar blue eyes.

"Klaus," she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on," he replied yanking her to the side and pushing his way through the crowd. He kept a firm grip on her arm, almost yanking it out of the socket. Caroline would have complained but she was too grateful that he was leading her away from the mob of fans. It wasn't like their encounters back in New York. This time it was much scarier.

Klaus pulled her away from the crowd and down a side street. He pulled out his phone and put it to his ear.

"Can you let Elena know I've got Caroline, I don't have her number…little fan incident out near the Palladium…ok."

He hung up. A few seconds later his phone buzzed with a text. He slid it open and read it.

"Elena and her bodyguard grabbed a car and are on their way back to the hotel," he told her. He bent down to meet her eyes, looking over her with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "except for my trampled bags, I'm good."

Klaus gave her a half grin, satisfied that she seemed to be unscathed and held out with arm. "Shall we?"

Caroline looked out at the people on the street. The crowd was thinning out, now that Elena was gone. She hesitated though, glancing back to Klaus.

"Are you sure? Won't they recognize you and just mob us again?"

Klaus chuckled. "I know how to keep a low profile," he said slipping on a pair of aviators, "and I don't have a large fan base in the Czech Republic."

He nodded his head in the direction of the street and started walking. Caroline followed. She relaxed once she caught her breath and realized all of the crazed fans had dispersed.

"Where'd you come from anyway?"

"Elijah spoke to Jenna and said that you two were out shopping, he insisted I tag along," Klaus explained, sounding like he wasn't too sorry that the shopping trip had been ruined before he arrived.

"Oh, so you weren't just stalking us."

Klaus laughed. "No guidebooks today?"

"Nope. Shopping instead," she replied.

"You can shop back in the States. Don't you want to see things? Experience the culture?"

Caroline shrugged. "I thought so. But I don't know. I didn't really like the museums," Caroline laughed at Klaus's horrified expression, "I'm sorry. I'm just not arty."

"I remember my first trip to Prague. I wasn't really into any of it either," his judgmental look faded, as he seemed to slip back in time to some distant and amusing memory.

"When was that?"

"I was just a boy. Seven or eight. My mother brought me here on a trip. She was an artist."

"Was?"

"She died," he said without feeling.

"Oh," Caroline returned lamely, "what kind of artist?"

"Painter, photography, she dabbled in a bit of everything," Klaus replied, "she was working on a project here and hoped to help me cultivate an affinity for the arts at an early age."

"I'm guessing that worked. Elijah mentioned that you studied art here."

"That was a long time ago. I studied painting mostly and some history."

"How did your mom die?"

"Cancer," he replied again with the same emotionless tone. Caroline nodded. She felt rude. Intrusive. "How about some coffees?"

Caroline smiled, accepting his diversion, and followed Klaus to a small outdoor café. They sat at a quaint, iron table, draped with a wispy white tablecloth. In the center of the table was a vase with purple flowers. The chairs were arranged next to one another rather than on opposite sides, so that they could look out at the view as they dined. Klaus ordered in Czech for the both of them.

"So do you still make art?" Caroline asked. It seemed like a less intrusive question than asking about his dead mother. But judging by his facial reaction, she was wrong.

"No. I don't have the time."

The waitress brought them their drinks, in small blue cups with saucers. She also sat down a plate of biscotti. It was different than the crappy diner coffees she was used to serve in thick white cups. Caroline took a tentative sip of her drink, realizing that Klaus had ordered straight espresso. She coughed slightly at the bitter taste.

"I think I might need a bit of milk," she admitted.

"Just sip slowly," Klaus instructed, passing her a piece of biscotti. "I'm sorry that you lost your bags in the chaos."

"Oh no big deal," Caroline said, with a bite of cookie in her mouth, "it was just a present for Tyler. I'm sure I can get him something else."

"Tyler," Klaus said, pursing his lips, "so how long have you two been together?"

"Three years. But it feels like longer."

"Why is that?"

"We've known each other forever. Grew up in the same town. We've been friends all our lives and then started dating after high school."

"Such a romantic story," Klaus said, scooting closer to Caroline. He slipped his arm around the back of her chair, once again invading her space. "Do you think you'll marry this boy?"

Caroline shifted in her chair a bit, trying to put some space between them. "I don't know, probably," she said bringing her cup to her lips and taking a sip. She tried to fight the urge to turn her head and look at Klaus, opting to ignore the fact that he was so close to her. He was making it quite difficult though.

His hand went to her hair, and he twirled a piece of it in his fingers as he purred in her ear. "Come on Caroline, small town boy, small town life…it won't be enough for you. You want excitement…romance."

She leaned away from him then, so she could face him. Her brows furrowed into an annoyed 'v'.

"Are you saying I'd be happier with someone like you?" Caroline huffed. "You know Tyler may not be the most romantic guy in the world, but at least he has his life together. I can trust him and he cares about me. He's not some sleazy guy who think he's hot shit and can get whatever he wants just because he famous."

"I never meant to suggest you weren't happy, you brought that up love. Perhaps your relationship isn't all you think it is."

That was it. Caroline had had it. The cocky looks and derogatory remarks about her relationship told her he wasn't even listening to anything she said. All he cared about was hitting on her and trying to get into her pants. She had tried to give him a second chance but it was clear to her that it was just a waste of time. She stood up, pulling a few bills from her wallet and tossing them onto the table. She didn't know if it what kind of currency it was or how much, she was too irritated to bother checking.

"You know what. You just don't get it. Because you have absolutely no idea what it's like to be with another person. It's obvious. You don't understand the first thing about love or even connecting with another person. I told you we could be friends but you just don't listen, so I hope you hear this loud and clear. Leave me alone."

Caroline spun away from him then, not bothering to look back, just trying to get away as fast as possible. She would find her own way back to the hotel.

Klaus scowled at her retreating figure, watching her curls bob in a haughty way as she retreated. His hand shot out and he hit the cup and saucer she had been drinking from off the table. It shattered into a bunch of tiny blue flecks on the concrete. The waitress yelled at him about breaking the dish and he tossed some money on the table, leaving the mess behind. He headed in the opposite direction Caroline had taken. At this point, he needed a stronger drink than espresso.

The fucking nerve of that girl. She was making assumptions about him and his life when she had no idea who the hell he was. She was like all the rest, just assuming that the person the media portrayed him as was his true self. But that was his fault wasn't it? He had told Elijah that it was all part of his image. It was the reputation he had cultivated for himself a long time ago.

Klaus walked into the nearest shop and bought a bottle of bourbon. He was opting to go into his room to drink and sulk as opposed to hanging around a local pub. Considering his temper was already on edge, the evening would no doubt end in a fight if someone so much as looked at him the wrong way. So he would lock himself away from the rest of the civilized world. There was his good deed done for the day. He was becoming almost as philanthropic as Elena Gilbert.

As he walked into his hotel room and drew the shades, he couldn't figure out why he was worried about the opinions of one girl. Yes she was beautiful and intriguing, but so were thousands of other women. Hell, he could probably fall out the door and have his pick. But no, he had been wasting his time trying to impress Caroline. It was probably just ego, he thought. The fact that she was rejecting him. Even though she wasn't really. She had a boyfriend and she was much too good of a girl to step outside the lines of trust. Klaus should have known. Caroline was friends with Elena after all. Elena was stuck up and boring and clearly so was Caroline.

He walked over to where he had laid his carry on bag and hoisted it onto his bed, pulling out a brown Moleskin journal and a pencil. He set them on the desk by the wall and grabbed one of the complimentary room glasses. Pouring himself a double of bourbon, he took a generous sip and cracked open the blank, creamy pages of the journal. His pencil took over as he let his mind wander and his hands sketch freely. Sketching had always calmed him down. He didn't need his brain to do it, he just let his hands go whatever they wanted. He never knew what would come out when he sketched like this, but it always allowed his brain to focus.

_You don't understand the first thing about love._

She didn't know what she was talking about. Even if there was some truth to the matter. No he had never been in love. But he didn't care to ever be in love. Literature, art, music, all spoke of what a wonderful emotion love could be and how happy people were to feel it and be involved in it. But for every happy mention of love, there were ten times that about the pain of it all. That he understood. He had seen it first hand, many times.

What was the point of connecting with anyone when they would only hurt you in the end?

Klaus stopped sketching a looked down at the page. He sighed, taking another sip of bourbon. He had drawn faces. One face rather, many times over. The same soft features, luscious lips, and fine cheekbones framed by curling locks.

He immediately tore out the page, ripping it up and tossing its remains into the wastebasket. No more. If she wanted him to leave her alone then he would. She wasn't anything special. He could easily find someone else to seduce and give him a break from his boring, contrived relationship.

* * *

Caroline woke up early the next day. After her fight with Klaus, she had retreated to her hotel bed for room service and bad TV. The problem was, she didn't understand anything on the channels. Instead she had opted to go to sleep early out of boredom. Now she was awake early and still bored. She threw back the covers and put on her robe. Maybe she would sneak across the hallway and see if Elena was awake yet. She had always been a morning person.

She stopped however, when she reached the door and noticed a slip of paper at her feet. She crouched down to pick it up off the floor. It seemed that someone had slipped something under her door in the middle of the night.

The paper was a creamy, off white color, like from a sketchbook, folded in half. She opened the paper up and gasped at what was inside. It was a drawing in brown pencil. A portrait of her. Her eyes scanned the paper, taking in the details. The artist had gotten every single bit of her right, from the shape of her eyes to the curve of her nose, and even a few things she didn't realize were there. It was beautiful. Surely she didn't look like that in real life? At the bottom was a small note.

"_Thank you for your honesty."_

_ -Klaus_

A small smile played at the corner of her lips as she studied the drawing and the words below it. No one had ever done anything like this for her before. A knock at the door interrupted her admiration of the drawing. She started, looking down at herself in her pajamas and robe. Oh god, she must look awful, she thought. She dashed to the mirror and fluffed her hair, groaning at the fact that she wasn't wearing any makeup.

There was a second round of knocks and Caroline whipped the door open. Once again she found Elena on the other side.

"Hey I wasn't sure if you would be up," Elena greeted, "wanna have breakfast?"

"Sure," Caroline replied, "I just need to wake up a bit."

"No problem," Elena said, "what's that?"

Elena pointed at the piece of paper in Caroline's hand. Caroline looked down and quickly folded it back in half, shifting it behind her back so Elena wouldn't see the drawing.

"Nothing just some stupid prank," she laughed nervously. "Give me fifteen minutes?"

"Okay," Elena said, throwing her a confused look before heading back to her own room.

Caroline shut the door and leaned back against it, her head hitting the back of it with a slight thump. She opened the drawing and looked at it again, the smile returning to her lips.

* * *

Jenna caught up with them after breakfast. They decided to try shopping again, this time in a less populated area of the city. Alaric was there with her. Caroline smiled. They were holding hands as they walked up, but he released her when they got closer, going straight into professional mode.

"So cancel your plans for tonight," Jenna announced, "you are going to a party."

Jenna handed Elena a fancy envelope with her name on it. Elena opened it to reveal an invitation to a party.

"It's a birthday for Milos Tesar," Elena read.

"Who is Milos Tesar," Caroline asked.

"He's a designer I met at fashion week back in the spring," Elena said, "his clothes were amazing, but he's not super well known yet. He's so nice though and throws great parties. We should definitely go. I have a plus one!"

Caroline's let out of a squeal of excitement before she realized something. "Won't you have to take your boyfriend?"

"Actually," Jenna said, "Klaus received his own invite. Turns out Milos is a fan. So you each have your own plus ones."

"Great," Elena beamed, turning back to Caroline. "Caroline will you be my plus one?"

Elena held out her hand. Caroline laughed and took it, giving her a fake curtsey.

"I will."

The shopping trip round two was much more successful than round one. Both girls found new party dresses for that evening. The party was taking place at a night club called, Noc. According to Jenna, it was a private event, which meant no cameras or paparazzi.

"Thank god, now I won't have to spend the entire evening with Klaus," Elena said as they walked back to the hotel. "I've been avoiding him pretty well for the most part. Jenna and Elijah have done a good job of building up our relationship in the press."

Caroline nodded and smiled as she listened to Elena vent. Elena should probably be thanking her, Caroline thought. Klaus wasn't around much because he was too busy getting on _her_ nerves. Not that he got on her nerves. Well he did, but he had his moments, even when he was being an annoying know-it-all. Like yesterday, before they had gotten into their little spat, Klaus was actually being normal. Caroline liked him best when he wasn't trying to impress her or hit on her. It was like he put up this huge bad boy front to everyone, but he'd let it go for a short time yesterday. When he talked about art or his mother or was drawing her pictures.

"He's not so bad," Caroline heard herself saying.

Elena shrugged. "Whatever. As long as he keeps up his end of the deal. At least he hasn't embarrassed me yet."

Once she was in her room, Caroline pulled out the dress she bought earlier that day. It was a hot, silky peplum dress. Caroline usually didn't buy anything this provocative, but she thought a swanky club party in a foreign country definitely called for vamping up her look. The dress was a rich wine color, the material draping over her body perfectly. The thin straps twisted over her shoulders and met in a delicate knot at the middle of her back. Her makeup was dramatic and she waved her hair into an artful mess of curls, adding a pair of black strappy heels she had brought with her from home. She looked hot and she knew it. Seeing her reflection in the mirror, she was struck with a new wave of excitement for the evening. She gave her hair one final fluff in the mirror and checked her lipstick before heading over to Elena's room.

The two of them walked downstairs to meet Klaus. Elena told her that Elijah was going to be his plus one. Caroline felt like it was probably going to end up being a repeat of the night they all first met, when they had gone out to dinner. Elijah would stick Klaus and Elena together and then Caroline would end up hanging out with him all night. She felt bad thinking it, but as nice as Elijah was, she wasn't really in the mood to sit and small talk with him. Elijah's disposition screamed mature and wholesome and Caroline wanted to party.

As she had gotten ready, she had danced around her room, listening to a club mix radio station on her phone. The music got her amped. She was ready to cut loose that night. After a few days of museums and culture, she wanted to let her hair down and get a little crazy. It was her vacation after all.

The men were downstairs waiting for them when they arrived. Caroline was surprised to see Elijah dressed in a suit, but without a tie, instead going for the open collared look. It was still dressed up though compared to Klaus, who donned a black V-neck t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans, his usual array of necklaces around his neck. Caroline had always been jealous of guys who could go out wearing jeans and t-shirts. As much as she liked dressing up, she wished she could do that from time to time.

Klaus gave Caroline the once over when she wasn't looking. He didn't want her to see him checking her out. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction. He had been more drunk than he realized when he had slipped that little apology drawing under her door. That morning, when he was sobered up, he had tried to think of a way to break into her room and steal it back. But of course, there was no possible way for him to do that.

Caroline smiled at him as they walked out to grab a taxi. He didn't quite know what that meant. Elijah was conversing with Elena about some humanitarian project, so Klaus took the opportunity to step next to Caroline.

"So thanks for the drawing," Caroline said, her teeth catching her lip.

"I'm glad you liked it," he coughed.

Caroline smirked. "I mean, you kind of messed up my nose, but I can forgive it."

Klaus chuckled, his body relaxing a bit. "Well I'll just have to try harder the next time I make you angry."

"Yes you will," she smiled.

The cab pulled up then and Klaus opened the door for her, grinning to himself as she climbed in.

They pulled up outside of Noc, the club that was hosting the party. The streets outside shined under the orange lamps from the bit of rain that washed through the city earlier that evening. But now the night was dry and full of possibility. They walked up to the doorman, who recognized Elena and immediately let the four of them past the velvet rope. The bar was underground, down a rather long spiral flight of stairs. Inside, everything was black, the walls, the tables, the chairs, everything. The walls had tiny holes in them, letting a bright white light shine through, the patterns arranged like constellations. Blue neon lights mixed with the soft glow of round paper lanterns. People were dressed in muted colors, blacks, silvers, and blues, Caroline suddenly felt like she stood out in her red party dress.

As they walked further into the club, they were greeted by the birthday boy himself.

"Elena, so happy you could come," Milos said with a thick accent. It sounded Italian to Caroline's ears.

He was a short man, wearing grey dress pants and a slightly-too-tight navy open collared shirt. There was a silver stud through his chin, right above a dark goatee.

"It's great to see you again Milos. Happy Birthday," Elena said as she leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. "This is my friend Caroline. You know Klaus. And his brother Elijah."

Milos took Caroline's hand in both of his own and shook it warmly.

"Caroline, lovely to meet you, you gorgeous creature," he beamed. Milos talked a mile a minute. "Elena are all your friends this beautiful? What a fierce little dress. You are just gorgeous."

Caroline couldn't help but giggle at the compliment, feeling a little less self-conscious now. Milos nodded at the boys, giving Klaus a warm greeting and telling how much he loved his music. Klaus thanked him and Caroline was rather surprised that at he seemed almost humbled by the compliment. Milos shouted over to another guest arriving and then excused himself to go continue playing host.

"I have to give everyone a chance to wish me happy birthday," he said, "but go, enjoy yourselves. Drink and dance."

He gestured in the direction of some private tables and fluttered off. Elena smiled and led their group to the VIP section of the club.

"Beautiful? I believe ravishing is the word I would have used," Klaus breathed into Caroline's ear.

Caroline swatted his chest, feeling her body flush. Laughter rumbled in his throat as they took their seats at one of the low tables. A few moments later a girl with a tray of shots came around to their table.

"From the birthday boy," the girl in a slinky black cocktail dress purred. Each of them took a small glass of the red liquid and the waitress walked away. Elijah immediately set his down on the table.

"Oh come on Elijah, we're at a party," Klaus goaded.

"Treacherous alcoholic drinks are not my forte," he replied with a grin.

"I know what you mean," Elena agreed, "but one won't hurt right?"

She nudged Elijah, who gave in and picked the drink back up. "I suppose."

The four of them clinked their glasses together and toasted to the night.

* * *

Elena had been right. One shot hadn't done much harm. After three or four though, Caroline was feeling light and restless. Even Elena loosened up a little, though she still had only had just the one. Once the music turned into dance-y club songs, Caroline grabbed her from her seat and dragged her to the dance floor. The two of them shimmied in the crowd of dancers. The laughed and danced. Caroline missed this. She missed her girlfriends. Elena was always travelling and Bonnie was always so busy with studying, they barely ever had time to go out and have girl nights. As they danced, Caroline couldn't help noticing all the cute foreign boys surrounding them.

"You should dance with someone," Caroline shouted into Elena's ear.

"I have a boyfriend remember?" Elena yelled back.

Caroline rolled her eyes. Thinking about Klaus and his flirting. Not to mention the other women he was most likely spending his time with while they toured. "Not that he takes it half as seriously as you do."

"What?" Elena said but Caroline just shrugged, instead of repeating herself. "I'm gonna go sit."

Caroline nodded, indicating that she would follow her, and they pushed their way through the dancing bodies and back to the table. Elijah and Klaus were still sitting there, not speaking to one another. There were a couple more empty glasses on the table in front of Klaus. He had been indulging himself while they were out dancing. The music wasn't as loud over by their table so they were able to hear each other better.

"Having a good time love?" Klaus leaned over to Caroline. She felt his fingers touch her back lightly and saw the glassy, drunk look in his eyes. If she wasn't mirroring that glassy eyed look back at him, she may have remembered to be offended.

"Yeah," she smiled and nodded. The waitress brought over more drinks, this time some kind of pomegranate flavor concoction, and Caroline accepted eagerly. All the dancing was making her thirsty.

Caroline was drunk. Klaus could tell. They always say you can't take the small town out of the girl, but put a few shots in her and the small town girl became quite the party animal. He had been watching her as she danced with Elena. She was free and loose, unlike her friend who had just been shifting nervously from side to side. It was ironic to him that the girl who wasn't an actress seemed to command the most attention.

"I think I'm ready to go," Elena said, "we've been hear for almost two hours, Milos won't be too upset."

Caroline sulked. "No! But we're having so much fun!"

"I could stay with Caroline," Klaus suggested to Elijah, "if you want to escort Elena back to the hotel."

Elijah nodded, he was easy enough to convince. Klaus knew he hated being at the club. Klaus hated it too, but Caroline was having a good time. He imagined that there probably weren't very many experiences like these to be had in rural Virginia. And he wouldn't mind getting some alone time with the tipsy blonde.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Klaus heard Elena ask Caroline.

"Yeah although I wish you were staying."

Klaus was glad that she wasn't. Elena and Elijah said their goodbyes and left Caroline and Klaus alone at the table.

"You know," Caroline said, "that wasn't very gentlemanly. You should have escorted your girlfriend home."

Her speech was a bit slurred, but Klaus found it quite endearing.

"Well we can always pretend that I left with my pretend girlfriend," he replied, quickly shifting gears to avoid an argument. "I take it there aren't a lot of nightclubs in Mystic Falls?"

"There are exactly zero nightclubs in Mystic Falls. You have to drive over an hour to do anything remotely fun, and even then it isn't really worth it," she said sipping her drink. "Then why do you stay there?" He asked, "you're 23-24 years old. You could do anything you wanted."

Caroline stared at him. The seriousness of her gaze shook him a bit. He could tell he hit a nerve. He assumed it was the same nerve he had breached when he mentioned her relationship and its possible flaws. She had unconsciously leaned in while he had been speaking to her. The song changed and Caroline blinked a couple of times, pulling back.

"I'm going to dance," she announced, ignoring his question. Before he could stop her she shot up and rushed back to the dance floor, letting herself get lost in the sea of bodies once again.

The music was slower now, trance like. A deep, electronic male voice speaking in a language she didn't know. Everyone had their eyes closed and their arms up as their bodies rolled to the beat. Caroline felt a hand slide around her waist and she spun to face whoever was touching her. It was Klaus. Of course it was Klaus. But at that moment she didn't seem to mind. He rested his other hand on her hip, pulling her closer, those deep eyes boring right into hers. They began swaying back and forth. She felt warm and anxious and it wasn't from the dancing.

Klaus's gaze slide to her lips, that were slightly more pink than usual from the drinks she had been sipping. He watched her teeth, bite down softly on her lower lip and he glanced up at her eyes. She was staring at him too. She wasn't moving away. Klaus could feel her softness under his hands and he wanted nothing more than to tear her from the dance floor and ravage her in the nearest space they could find.

He leaned his head down, his lips hovering over hers. Caroline's breath caught. He was going to kiss her. She couldn't move, not because his hold on her was too tight, but because her body wouldn't let her. Her brain was shouting things at her, but her body was blocking them all out. All she could think about was how much she wanted to be kissed. That nothing else mattered right that second.

Someone knocked into her shoulder then and she stumbled slightly, breaking the trance that she was in. Klaus grabbed onto her arms to steady her, but she shook him off. Her brain finally winning the argument.

"I think I changed my mind," she said. "I am tired after all."

Klaus couldn't hear what she said, but he got the gist of it. The moment had been lost. He pulled back and nodded, dropping his hands from her sides. He turned away and walked off the dance floor, with Caroline following behind.

* * *

**So any Prague readers out there? Again, I've never been to Europe so Google has been my travel research guide. Apologies for any weirdness.**

**Hope you guys are feeling the chemistry between Caroline and Klaus. Klaus is still being a bit of a dick, but he's coming around. And so is Caroline, whether she likes it or not ;)**

**Reviews are amazing. Always love to hear your thoughts!**

**follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


	4. Chapter 4

****A/N**Made a slight update to this chapter due to some concerns raised in a couple interviews. Please read the author's note at the bottom if you've already read this chapter. THANKS!**

**Hey everyone! Happy update day! I feel like I haven't updated in a bit, but it's only been like a week right? :)**

**Truthfully, I've had a bit of a crisis of confidence the past week. I guess we all have it. I just keep reminding myself that not everyone in the fandom is going to enjoy my writing. That I write for the people (you guys) who do like it and for myself. So extra special thanks to all of you my dear readers and reviewers. I wish I could come to each of your houses and give you and hug and a cupcake or something for just being frickin' amazing!**

**Anyways, enough sappiness...on with the update.**

**And just as a general sidenote, which I think I forgot to mention before: Elijah and Rebekah are Klaus's only siblings in this fic :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The next morning, Caroline was regretting her decision to consume so much alcohol the night before. Her head was pounding and they had to catch an early flight to Milan. She popped a few aspirins and slipped her oversized sunglasses over her bloodshot blue eyes as they took the taxi to the airport.

"How was the rest of last night?" Elena asked her.

"Nothing happened," Caroline answered just a bit too fast. Elena gave her a suspicious look.

Nothing _had_ happened. Nothing had even _almost_ happened she swore to herself. It was just a product of the alcohol and the energy of the club and the dancing. She didn't almost kiss Klaus. Or he didn't almost kiss her. She had told him that she wasn't interested. She wasn't. She had never wanted him to kiss her. But at the time she couldn't seem to recall the reason why his lips on hers was anything but a good idea. Even though moments of last night were a bit hazy she could remember standing there looking up at his tempting mouth, wondering what it might be like to just let go and have one kiss. Caroline shook her head. No! She had to stop reading so many romance novels.

"What did Klaus do?" Elena prodded.

"Nothing. We really only stayed for like another ten minutes after you left and then we just went back to the hotel." Caroline was glad her eyes were hidden by her sunglasses. It made lying easier. She didn't know why she felt so guilty, but she knew that only meant it was fortunate that they hadn't followed through on that kiss. She couldn't imagine how guilty she would really feel if she had kissed him. Even worse than imaging the 'what-if' was thinking about what she would do when he confronted her. Something told her he wouldn't be letting her off the hook.

She had the entire drive to the airport and trip through security to contemplate what she was going to do. Her first thought was to ignore it, claim that she was really drunk, and didn't remember anything. Her second plan was to just attack head on before he could get to her and tell him that she was glad they didn't kiss because it would have been a bad idea.

Once on the plane, Caroline stretched back in her seat and closed her eyes. She hoped a nap would make her headache go away. There was no time to be sick. As soon as they landed, they would change, and then head out to a fashion show. Front row seats! Caroline couldn't have been more excited. She needed to look fresh and fabulous and not hung-over and anxious while sitting next to Elena and surrounded by gorgeous models.

The airline they were on had tiny touchscreens on the back of every seat so the passengers could watch movies or listen to music during the flight. Caroline popped her white ear-buds into the side of the screen and scrolled through the music selections. Maybe some Chopin would help her headache and lull her to sleep. Her finger swiped across the touchscreen, when she stopped and saw one of Klaus's CDs listed on the 'most popular' menu. She'd never listened to any of his music before. Caroline musical preferences were pop or whatever happened to be on the radio most of the time, and Klaus's music wasn't the type that was played on her kind of stations.

That night he was playing a show that they all would be going to of course; Elena would be playing supportive girlfriend that night. Caroline tapped her finger over the picture of the cover art and pressed play. Her ears were soon filled with the sounds of Klaus's voice, over guitars, bass and drums. She closed her eyes and listened to the lyrics, which were nothing close to what she expected. As the music played, she unconsciously started taping out the rhythm onto the arm of the sear, her head bobbing in time ever so slightly.

Lost in the song she turned her head to the side, her eyes fluttering and caught sight of Klaus sitting in the seat next to her, starring at her with an amused smile on his face. She jumped and ripped the ear-buds from her ears.

"You've got to stop doing that," she said, putting her hand to her chest.

"Doing what?" He feigned innocence. "What are you listening to that put such a smile on your face?"

Caroline tried to reach up and change the screen but Klaus grabbed her hand, holding it back, as he leaned forward to see for himself.

"Hmm, that looks familiar," he teased, "why I think I wrote that one."

Caroline knew she was as red as the dress she had been wearing last night. Not only that, she was all too aware of his hands around her wrist. She tried to calm her heartbeat and appear nonchalant.

"Well you _are_ playing a concert tonight and I've never actually heard any of your songs," she replied.

Klaus nodded and released her wrist. "Fair excuse," he settled back into the seat, "so what's the verdict then?"

"Not bad, it's no Katy Perry," Caroline smiled at Klaus's judgmental sneer, "you don't write any songs about love."

Klaus was taken aback by the observation. "Almost 90% of the songs on that CD are about love."

"Yeah angry, angsty love. Where's the heartfelt ballad?"

Klaus scoffed. "I'm not a long haired 80s rockstar."

"Hey, I like a good cheesy 80s love ballad," she shrugged.

"So an 80s love ballad and a few shots are what it takes to get you hot and bothered," Klaus smirked, "duly noted love."

With a wink, Klaus slipped out of the seat before Caroline could wipe the shocked look off her face. She felt her cheeks growing red again and slumped down in her seat. Would she ever be able to look at him again without feeling like a complete idiot?

* * *

Klaus tuned the strings of his guitar, while the rest of his band set up for sound check. The drum symbols clanged behind him as the techies argued over what amp went where on the stage. He chuckled to himself as he recalled the look on Caroline's face earlier that day about getting her "hot and bothered". She looked completely scandalized. Sometimes she seemed so innocent. Usually innocence wasn't something he was particularly attracted to, but then again he didn't spend time around many women who could ever be described as innocent.

"What's so funny," his drummer asked him, twirling his drumstick in his hand.

"Nothing mate," Klaus cleared his throat.

"Niklaus Mikaelson. You bastard."

Klaus's head snapped up and he set down his guitar. "Kol. You have some nerve showing up here after you abandoned me."

The brown haired boy smirked. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and hopped up the stairs onto the stage. "Well, Brazil was calling to me."

"I think those girls were Columbian."

Kol shrugged. "Either way."

Klaus returned his smirk and gave Kol a friendly hug. Kol stepped back, running a hand through his spikey brown hair. "How long have you been in Milan?"

"I was on tour for a while with this one band," Kol said, "liked it so much I decided to stay."

"I'm touched to know I'm not the only one you flake on," Klaus replied. "Don't think that you can just show up and play with me tonight."

Kol raised his hands in defense. "Not at all, even though you do owe me. I'm just here to see the show tonight, assuming I can score free tickets."

Klaus nodded and the two of the made their way over to the bar. Kol grabbed them a couple of beers from over the bar and cracked them open, tossing the bottle caps aside. Klaus set his bottle in front of him without taking a sip.

"So what's this I hear about a new girl in your life? Someone has finally tied you down?" Kol asked.

Klaus pursed his lips. Of course. He had to keep up with the lie. He liked Kol, most of the time. They had history together but the cavalier guitar player wasn't trustworthy in the slightest. Kol was a rich boy who lived off his parents' dime while he traipsed around the world partying and screwing anything in a sexy pair of heels, but that didn't mean he wouldn't sell a good story to a magazine to make a quick buck.

"She's the light of my life, I can't believe how lucky I am," Klaus said, with a practiced air. Kol completely missed his tone of voice though and raised his bottle up into the air.

"Well cheers to that," Kol said, "when do I get to meet this lovely lady that has captured your black heart?"

"Tonight," Klaus said taking a swig of his drink, "after the show."

"Sounds terrific."

* * *

"That was so much fun!" Caroline exclaimed, sitting next to Elena in the limo.

"You are no longer a fashion show virgin," Jenna said from across the car.

"I'm glad you had fun," Elena added.

"The music was the best part," Caroline continued, "I have to download it on my iPod."

"Speaking of music," Jenna said, "you've got about 20 minutes before Klaus goes on stage, so no time to change."

"No worries, I think we're fine in what we're wearing to go to a concert."

They knew before that they would probably be running short on time in between the fashion show and Klaus' concert. Caroline had worn a short, white dress with a leather jacket over it. Elena had gone a bit more fashion forward, with a black lace, single sleeve dress. She took a small compact out of her bag and checked her makeup, applying a bit more lip gloss to her lips.

"I like the pink lip stick," Elena said to her. Caroline had decided to try something new that night, going from bright pink lips instead of her usual nude colored lipsticks. "You pull it off quite nicely."

"Thanks," Caroline smiled, snapping her compact shut.

They arrived at the venue where Klaus was playing with only five minutes to spare. It seemed like the entire show had been waiting for them. As soon as they were seated upstairs in the VIP area, the lights were dimmed and the concert began. From where they were sitting, Caroline could see all of the music fans. It was mostly girls, pressing as close as they could get to the stage. She also had a clear view of Klaus. The venue was a more intimate setting than the few arena concerts Caroline had attended in the past. It was small enough for her to be able to count each of the necklaces wrapped around Klaus's throat from where she sat above it all.

Klaus strummed a few notes on his guitar and the fans cheered. They snag along with every lyric to every song. Caroline's eyes were glued to Klaus throughout the performance. She was mesmerized by the way his lips brushed lightly against the microphone while he sang and the way his fingers moved deftly across the strings of his guitar. His sad slow melodies and angry love songs were drawing her in deeper. They sounded even more intense than when she had listened to the CD on the plane. Every now and again he would stop between songs and speak a bit to his fans, but he wasn't very personable. His performance seemed heartfelt but at the same time he maintained a cold distance from the audience.

At one point in the set, the lights dimmed and Klaus was onstage alone; just him and an acoustic guitar. He sat down on a stool and took a swig of the beer that he had been nursing throughout the night.

"Earlier today," Klaus said into the microphone, "someone told me that I don't sing enough about love." Caroline's eyes widened a bit as the crowd murmured in disagreement. "I thought just for her I might switch it up a bit. I didn't write this song, but I'm sure more than a few of you will recognize it. Especially if you appreciate 80s love ballads."

She glanced at Elena out of the corner of her eye, but her friend just sat there, looking bored with her gin and tonic. Caroline realized that Elena wouldn't know that Klaus was talking about her. She relaxed and turned her attention back to the stage. Klaus began to play the song and even though it was acoustic, Caroline recognized it instantly. Her lips twisted as she tried to hold back the massive smile breaking out across her face.

* * *

After the concert, everyone was complimenting Klaus on his performance. Even his band said they thought it was the best show they played in quite some time.

"Well, it's the first time in a long time my brother has showed up to play," Elijah remarked, "rather than sending his drunken, evil twin."

Klaus rolled his eyes but accepted the backhanded compliment. "Well since I've been a good boy, does that mean I can go out and play?"

Elijah chuckled and gave Klaus a pat on the back. "Don't have too much fun."

As Elijah walked away, Caroline and Elena appeared backstage. Klaus couldn't help the way his eyes raked over Caroline. She looked different that night. It wasn't just the way she was dressed, but the way she was carrying herself. Her shoulders seemed a little straighter and her chin a bit higher. She smiled brightly at him as they walked up.

"Great show," Elena said, her voice interrupting his mood.

"Thanks," Klaus replied stoically. His gaze slipped back to Caroline, who was opening her mouth to say something before she was interrupted.

"Klaus! Brilliant show!" Kol said bounding up to the group and brushing past the girls. "Although it might have been just a tiny bit better if I was on bass."

"Sure, sure," Klaus said to him. Kol turned toward the girls, noticing their presence.

"And who might these lovely ladies be?"

"This is my girlfriend, Elena Gilbert," Klaus said taking her hand, he was nothing if not a through actor, "and her friend, Caroline Forbes."

Kol's eyes slid from Elena to Caroline, taking the same path up and down her body that Klaus's just had. He took Caroline's hand and kissed it, oozing fake charm.

"I'm Kol. Pleasure to meet you darling," he said.

Caroline giggled. Klaus seethed. If he had pulled something like that, she would have rolled her eyes or shot him down with some sarcastic quip.

"And how do you two know each other?" Caroline asked.

"I used to play with Niklaus from time to time," Kol explained.

"And by play he means take advantage of free whiskey and try to shag groupies," Klaus interjected.

"Speaking of boozing and shagging," Kol said, "why don't the four of us go out for a drink?"

Caroline and Elena looked at each other.

"I don't have any reason to be awake early," Elena said.

"Then it's settled," Kol clapped his hands together. Klaus tried to hold back his glare as he watched Kol step in front of him and hold his arm out to Caroline. She took it with another giggle and Kol led her away.

"Shall we?" Elena said holding out her hand for Klaus to take it. He snorted and took her hand, appreciating the fact that at least she seemed as miserable as he did.

* * *

Kol took them to a large bar not too far away from the concert venue. It seemed inhabited by the same people who had just attended Klaus's show. He got a little bombarded by a few fans when they first entered, but the girls seemed to disperse when he introduce his "girlfriend" to them. At least Elena was proving to be somewhat useful that night. Kol seemed to know the bartenders and had no problem getting them fast drinks and a VIP table.

Klaus kept a close eye on Kol and Caroline. He tried to hear their conversation but it was too loud in the bar and they were on the other side of the table. Elena wasn't very talkative, so he had nothing to do but sit there, sip his whiskey and fume. He nearly lost it when he saw Kol wrap his arm around the back of Caroline's chair and lean in to whisper in her ear.

Klaus leaned in close to Elena. "Is there trouble with Caroline and her boyfriend?'

"What?" Elena said turning toward.

"Did Caroline and her boyfriend break up?"

"No. Why?" Klaus gestured to the couple across the table. Elena just waved her hand. "Oh don't worry, Caroline is just being nice. She would never cheat on Tyler."

He didn't whether to be pleased by that statement or irritated. Elena turned back to her phone and Klaus sat back in his seat continuing to frown as Caroline laughed at something funny Kol had said.

They had been at the bar for a while now. Caroline had kept her drinking on the light side, since she was still feeling queasy from drinking so much the night before. Still, she had sipped through two vodka tonics as she listened to Kol's stories about touring and travelling. It seemed like the guy had done everything. And gotten into a quite a bit of trouble while doing it.

She especially enjoyed hearing the stories that involved Klaus.

"Seriously?" Caroline laughed, "he was naked in Bethesda fountain?"

"I kid you not," Kol replied, "completely passed out. It was actually a couple of bums who alerted the police to the disturbance."

"Oh my god! How did the press not find out about it? I've never heard that story and trust me, I keep up with celebrity gossip."

"It's because Elijah and that bitch that works for them are very good at their jobs," Kol winked, motioning to the waitress for another drink.

Caroline noticed Kol scoot in closer. He had been moving closer since they sat down. He cleverly disguised his intentions of course, but she wasn't dumb. She knew she should have moved away as soon as she could, but at some point she had looked over and noticed Klaus watching them. There was a hard, envious look in his eye that made Caroline want to see how long she might be able to keep this up.

"I enjoy your laugh Caroline," Kol murmured to her, "you have a beautiful smile."

He reached up and brushed his hand across her hair. Caroline tried to give him a friendly smile, but now she knew she had taken things just a bit too far. It was time to ease back a little with the flirting.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Caroline said slipping away from Kol's reach and out of her chair. He seemed undaunted though, smiling up at her and pointing her in the right direction.

She didn't really have to use the bathroom, so she stood at the mirror for a couple minutes, fixing her hair and makeup and eaves dropping on the conversations going on between the stalls. Most of it was in Italian so she didn't understand a word.

When she emerged from the restroom, Klaus was standing there waiting for her. He was wearing that same hardened expression as before. Caroline attempted to sidestep him, but he stepped in front of her blocking her path.

"Was there something you needed?" She asked in annoyed voice.

"What game are you playing with Kol?"

"No game," Caroline said, "just being friendly."

Klaus scoffed. "Friendly? If was that friendly with you I'd be walking away with a verbal slap in the teeth."

"I'm just being nice."

"You're never that nice to me."

Caroline smirked. "Well you don't deserve it. Besides, you have a girlfriend."

"A fake girlfriend," Klaus corrected, "if I remember correctly you have a real boyfriend."

"Why are you so concerned," Caroline asked crossing her arms.

"Don't think you're being a bit of a hypocrite love?"

Caroline bristled at this. "I haven't done anything wrong. There's no harm in a little innocent flirting. Sounds to me like someone is jealous?"

Klaus sputtered a bit and Caroline took the opportunity to step around him and head back to their table. But Klaus grabbed her elbow, gently, and spun her back toward him.

"Just be careful. Kol isn't the type to take no for an answer."

Caroline pulled away from his grip. "And you are?"

That seemed to convince him to let her go. She scoffed and headed back in the direction of the table. As she walked, she spotted Kol at the bar and he waved her over. Caroline changed her path and met him there. He smiled warmly and made space for her to stand next to him.

"I thought we could give the lovebirds some time alone," Kol said by way of explanation. Caroline nodded. If he only knew. "I saw you talking to Klaus, he looked angry."

"Yeah," Caroline said trying to sound casual, "just a fight with Elena."

"Ah, and you're the friend caught in the middle of the couple," Kol said, "that's never fun."

Caroline gave him a half smile and Kol seemed to take that as a cue to slip his arm around her waist. Caroline jumped at the contact. Maybe Klaus was right. She should probably come clean before this whole flirtation thing went any further.

"Kol, I feel like I should tell you I have a boyfriend," Caroline said.

"No worries darling," Kol said, "we're here to have fun and make friends right?"

"Right," Caroline nodded slowly. Kol still hadn't moved his arm, so she backed away a little.

"I apologize if I've overstepped any boundaries," Kol said, his brown eyes reminding her a bit of a kicked puppy in that moment. Caroline's smile relaxed.

"It's ok," she said, "you didn't know."

"Tell you what," Kol said, "there is a special VIP room in the back, wanna check it out?"

"Sure," Caroline shrugged. She didn't know what special VIP meant. She thought they were already sitting in the VIP section. Kol took her hand and led her through the crowd and to a doorway, blocked off by a curtain. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Klaus back at their table next to Elena. He didn't see them walk behind the curtain.

The "special" VIP area seemed quieter than the bar outside. Tables were smaller and the lighting was dimmer. Navy fabric was draped along the walls giving the area a sensual appeal.

"Oh my fucking god, Kol!" Caroline heard a girl shout in a thick English accent.

Kol smiled and waved at the girl, who ran up and wrapped her arms around him. She was short and brunette, with wild curly hair and dark lined eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked him, touching his arms as if she couldn't believe he was real.

"Mary," he chuckled, "you just saw me last night."

Mary snickered. Caroline noticed the glassy quality to her gaze. "Oh. Yeah."

"Mary, this is Caroline."

Mary turned to Caroline and the smile dropped from her face. She didn't even make an attempt at introducing herself or being polite. Instead she spun around on her heeled boots and went back to the table.

"Sorry," Kol murmured to her, "bit of an old fling."

He walked to the table and Caroline followed him. Everyone scooted over to make room for him in the booth, but Caroline ended up standing on the outside next to him. The group was talking loudly, everyone shouting over the other person. They all seemed excited to have Kol around, especially Mary. Caroline noticed a couple flat, dust covered mirrors on the table and it soon became clear as to why everyone was so animated.

"Caroline?"Kol said nudging her and shifting the mirror toward her.

Kol had just snorted his own white line of powder through a rolled up piece of paper and now it appeared the next one was meant for her. Caroline was all about new experiences: drinking, partying, VIP rooms, but she drew the line at hard drugs.

"No. Thank you."

"What's the matter sweetheart, never done coke before?" Mary sneered, acting like it was the most normal thing ever to do drugs in a bar.

"No I haven't," Caroline shot back without a hint of insecurity.

"Just go for it Caroline. You're on vacation," Kol urged.

"I'd really rather not."

"Yeah Kol," Mary said mocking Caroline's tone, "she'd really rather not."

Caroline scoffed and turned to go. She'd had enough of the VIP room. If VIP room meant hard drugs and evil bitches, she'd stay out in the main bar with all the normal people.

"Caroline," she heard Kol call behind her. He walked up to her before she could get to the entrance back into the main area.

"Look Kol, I'm really not into all that," she said, "but feel free to go back and have a good time. I'll just find Klaus and Elena."

"Wait no," Kol said, "you and I were having fun." He looked over his shoulder for a moment, seeming nervous, but then gave her a cool smile. "Let's go have a drink at the bar. Forget Mary and those losers in there?"

Caroline wasn't convinced by his sudden change of attitude toward his VIP friends but she agreed and followed him back to the bar. He seemed twitchy and over alert. It must have been the drugs she reckoned. Hanging out with Kol didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. She glanced over at the table, but didn't see Klaus or Elena. Maybe they had left. She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone to text Elena and see where she had gone.

As she texted, Kol slid another vodka tonic in front of her.

"Cheers," Kol said, raising his glass to her. Caroline slipped her phone back into her clutch and grabbed her glass, mimicking his toast.

Before she could take the drink, her glass was knocked out of her hand, the alcohol spilling and glass breaking on the wood floor. She looked up and saw Klaus, glaring daggers at Kol. It wasn't the jealous looks his was throwing at him before, but a look of severe anger.

"What the hell?" She screeched, but Klaus's eyes were trained on Kol.

"Is there a problem mate?" Kol cocked his head.

"He put something in your drink," Klaus said to Caroline without looking at her. The other people around them started focusing their attention toward the drama that was taking place at the bar.

"What?" Caroline gaped she faced Kol. "Is that true?"

A creepy smile stretched out across Kol's face and he took a sip of his whiskey, setting the glass down onto the bar. He stepped toward Klaus.

"Don't stand there acting like you're some knight in shining armor," Kol said, "I believe it was you who taught me that trick."

"Leave," Klaus growled. But Kol continued.

"Put it in her glass when she's messing with her phone or her hair or in the bathroom. She'll never expect it if you get her to trust you first."

"Leave now. Before you regret it."

"Before I regret it?" Kol repeated. "What are you going to do? Hit your best friend over some game playing slut in a tight dress? If anything she deserves it after—"

Klaus lunged forward to strike but Caroline was there, holding her hands between the two of them. Klaus's fist stopped right before it connected with Caroline's face and she let out a slow breath. Relieved that she hadn't regretted stepping between them herself.

Two of the bouncers came up to them then and grabbed Kol, escorting him out and telling him not to come back. Apparently back room drugs were one thing, but date rape drugs were an entirely different ball game. Caroline glanced up to see Klaus frowning at her. She opened her mouth to speak, but he turned away before she could say anything, pushing his way through the gaping crowd. Caroline followed him until they were outside.

Klaus stalked down the street, his long legged stride and Caroline's heels making it difficult for her to catch up to him.

"Hey would you wait," Caroline said, her heels clacking after him as she hurried around the corner and into the alley next to the club.

Klaus rounded on her then and she almost bumped into him. She looked up and saw the angry glare he had been giving Kol directed at her. It made her flinch. She could feel the frustration rolling off him in waves.

"You're mad," she said, "why are you mad?"

"Because I can't believe you protected him after what he was about to do to you," Klaus said.

"You idiot, I didn't jump in front of Kol to save him. I did it to save you."

Klaus scoffed. "I could have easily wiped the floor with Kol."

"Yeah and where would that have gotten you? Arrested? In jail? Worse?" Caroline crossed her arms. "Then all this stuff with Elena and trying to change your image would be for nothing."

"You could have gotten hurt," Klaus said, his blue eyes flicking back to hers, "if I hadn't stopped myself I could have hurt you."

Caroline shrugged. "It's ok. It would have been an accident. I'd have forgiven you."

"I wouldn't," was Klaus's sad reply.

She wanted to reach out and tell him that it was really ok, but something about everything that had just happened stuck in her mind. Something that Kol had said that she noticed Klaus hadn't denied.

"Is it true? That you and Kol used to…" _drug girls so they'd sleep with you_. Unable to finish the sentence, she let the implication hang in the air.

"Yes," he affirmed. Klaus walked over and learned up against the wall, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I'm really not worth the effort that everyone makes. Elijah and Elena and you," he said, "I am who I am. That isn't going to change."

Caroline walked over and leaned up against the wall next to him, her arm brushing against his.

"Well no one is perfect," she attempted to joke, but Klaus didn't laugh. Her teeth worried her lip. "Hey Klaus, look at me."

Klaus hesitated for a moment before turning his face to her. She could see remorse in his eyes; something that she hadn't seen at all in Kol's expression when he got caught. Kol hadn't felt the least bit guilty about trying to drug her.

"I don't know who you were in the past," Caroline said rolling her body on the wall so that she faced him, her shoulder against the brick, "but that guy Kol described, I don't see him. Especially not right now."

Klaus's mouth twisted up into a bit of a smile, which satisfied her. She caught herself staring at his lips again and when her eyes went back to his, she realized he had noticed her staring as well. His stare had turned intense again, but not the angry kind of intense anymore. Her breath caught and she looked down and realized that she was lightly gripping his arm. When had that happened? Caroline felt her stomach tighten and the feeling that she had the night before returned. She knew she wasn't drunk this time. There were no excuses for the electricity she was feeling at that moment.

Klaus watched Caroline's eyes, feeling her fingers against his arm. He could almost see every thought she was thinking, as if there was a marquee running across her blue eyes narrating all the things going through her head. She was thinking too much. She wouldn't give in, he knew it. He reached up and cupped her face with his hand and she leaned into it. He counted the seconds until he knew she would pull away. Elena had said it herself. She would never cheat on her boyfriend. Caroline was too good to do anything like that. She wasn't like him, who took whatever he wanted no matter the consequences. That's just who he was. But his thoughts were stopped as Caroline leaned forward and placed her lips on his.

She didn't know what she was doing, kissing him, but it was happening. His lips were warm and inviting and a few seconds later he began to move his mouth across hers. Tiny butterflies fluttered around in her stomach as their lips came together. He turned her around and pressed her against the wall, trapping her between his arms. His tongue slipped past her lips and into her mouth, sending an intense wave of heat that she felt all the way down to her toes. Her hands slid up to the side of his face, her thumbs brushing across the stubble on his jaw. He kissed her once, twice, again, each touch of his lips sending those stomach-butterflies into a tizzy. Klaus pulled back and stared into her eyes, trying to read her thoughts now, but he couldn't. They were as fuzzy as his own.

"Caroline?"

Both of their heads snapped in the direction of the voice. Elena stood at the front of the alleyway, looking over at them. Klaus pushed himself off the wall, away from Caroline. He wondered how long Elena had been standing there and whether or not she had seen them. He could feel Caroline panicking next to him.

"What happened? The bouncer told me he saw you guys run around here," Elena asked walking toward them, "I go to the bathroom for five minutes and then hear that I missed a fight and you two are gone."

"It was nothing," Caroline said quickly, "Kol tried to drug me and Klaus saw him."

"Are you ok?" Elena asked her friend, completely ignoring Klaus. He assumed that Elena hadn't seen their kiss.

"Yeah," Caroline replied sounding a bit breathless.

"Well I'm ready to get back to the hotel if you are."

Caroline nodded, unable to look at Klaus. "Yeah let's go."

Elena didn't seem to have seen the major makeout session that had been happening moments ago. Klaus watched Caroline and Elena walk out of the alley and toward the street to find a cab. He followed them, brushing a hand against his lips and thought he caught sight of Caroline doing the same.

* * *

**So what do you guys think of Kol's little cameo in this fic? As well as original groupie, Mary!**

**Note #1: I usually hate it in books when the author's name the specific songs that are playing. It always throws me off, especially if it's a song or band that I LOATHE. But in case you want to know, the 80s ballad Klaus was playing for Caroline was Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns and Roses.**

**Note #2: That being said, I didn't want to compare Klaus and his band to any certain type because we all have our types of music. But I'd love to hear your thoughts as to what band YOU imagine Klaus's band to be like in this fic!**

**Note #3: Some of you have been very astute to the blink and you miss it subplot I've got going on. I thought I was being subtle but apparently, nothing gets by some of you ;)**

**Reviews are love!**

**follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**

*******SPECIAL NOTE*********

So I can't respond to guest reviews and someone raised concerned about Klaus being a former "rapist" and Caroline being ok with it. Not the case at all.

_"Is it true? That you and Kol used to…" drug girls so they'd sleep with you. Unable to finish the sentence, she let the implication hang in the air._

_"Yes," he affirmed. Klaus walked over and learned up against the wall, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I'm really not worth the effort that everyone makes. Elijah and Elena and you," he said, "I am who I am. That isn't going to change."_

If you notice, Caroline never finishes her question, so Klaus doesn't really know what she's asking or what he is saying yes to. He is more or less admitting that he hasn't been the most upstanding person when it comes to bedding women. He may get a woman super drunk, but he would never drug or force himself on anyone. But at that moment, he's going through a bit of self loathing and doesn't really see the difference between his past actions and Kol's current attempts (not to imply that there is one).

Caroline is not at all ok with Klaus "being a rapist" however after considering it, she thinks that she doesn't really picture Klaus doing all that because it's clear that he can see that drugging a girl is wrong, that he feels remorse, something that Kol didn't not show an ounce of after he got caught. In fact he went as far as to blame Caroline for bringing it upon herself.

This entire conversation was actually inspired by one that occurred in my real life, between a friend and I. And knowing that sometimes, when a guy feels really bad about something, he tends to make it seem like it was worse than it really was.

I'm a little offended that anyone would think that I would write Caroline, or anything for that matter, condoning rape/attempted rape or brushing it off. So hopefully this clarifies it a little bit and if the anon is reading this, sorry for any offense it may have caused.

I'll probably be adding a little something to the next chapter, to make it VERY CLEAR that Klaus isn't a former rapist.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, here's the new update. Sorry for taking so long but man! Some of you really know how to kick a girl when she's down (regarding the last chapter). Some concerns were raised about the events in the last chapter. I added a little author's note at the end which I suggest you read if you were offended or worried by any of the events in Chapter 4.**

**It's one of the pitfalls of fan fiction I'm afraid, people tend to jump the gun or not read carefully. Oh well.**

**Hope you all enjoy this next chapter. I know it's bit short, but it's where the divide fit. I'll be quick about updating again :)**

* * *

Caroline was awake bright and earlier the next morning. After a quick shower, she got dressed and went downstairs to grab a latte from the coffee shop across the street. It was a gorgeous day in Itlay. It was a rare day of the trip where Caroline actually had free time. For a vacation, there wasn't much relaxing going on. Elena was busy, so she dediced she would have a day to herself, getting pampered in the hotel spa or walking around and enjoying the city. Klaus would have been an excellent guide, but hanging out with Klaus was out of the question.

She had kissed him.

And now she was avoiding him.

She was an avoider.

As she returned to the lobby, she ran into Elena.

"Hey I just knocked on your door," Elena said giving her a hug.

"Sorry, just went out to get coffee," Caroline waved her paper cup.

"Well I'm heading out for the day," Elena said, "just had a talk with Elijah and Klaus."

"What about?"

"There are pictures of Klaus's fight with Kol last night on the internet. Elijah is really mad. He just gave Klaus an earful."

Caroline's brows furrowed. "Well what did Klaus say?"

"Nothing," Elena replied, "just glared at him the whole time and stormed out when Elijah was done. I have to do some damage control at my interview later."

Elena looked at the time on her phone and said she had to go, breezing out the door and catching a cab. Caroline said goodbye and took her coffee into the elevator, hitting the button that would take her up.

She got off the elevator and walked down the hallway, stopping in front of the fourth door on the right. She hoped it was the right one as she raised her fist and knocked three times. A few moments later she heard footsteps and then the door opened. Elijah stood there looking impeccable as ever at nine a.m. and a little surprised to see her.

"Caroline," he greeted, "what can I do for you?"

"I just saw Elena down in the lobby," Caroline said, "I was hoping I could shine a little more light on what exactly happened last night."

Elijah invited her into his room to hear her out. She walked inside and noticed that he had a work area set up at the table, his laptop was opened with a gossip website pulled up on the screen. There were the pictures Elena had mentioned of Klaus and Kol arguing in the bar. Even in the blurred background, Caroline could see others in the crowd with cellphone cameras out, snapping pictures. She hadn't noticed them last night. Her head spun at the idea of how many people had captured the episode with their phones.

"My associate Katherine is attempting to find out any news sources that may have video," Elijah explained pulling out a chair for her to sit, "but it will be impossible to catch them all."

"It wasn't Klaus's fault," Caroline said, "it just got out of hand. Kol was trying to drug me and Klaus caught him. He just got mad. Seriously, no punches were thrown, we left before it could get physical."

Caroline watched Elijah bite his lip and could have sworn he was mouthing the word "fuck" to himself. But of course, proper Elijah would never use the "f-word".

"I never did like Kol," he said to her, "are you alright?"

Caroline nodded. "Thanks to Klaus."

Elijah let out a heavy breath. "It seems I owe my brother an apology. But he could have handled the entire situation in a much better way."

"His intentions were good," Caroline said, her shoulder bobbing up and down.

"It doesn't help me fix the situation in the media though," Elijah clicked his mouse over the computer screen and the website disappeared.

"No, but at least _you_ know."

"Very true," Elijah said, "thank you Caroline." She nodded and tapped her fingers against her cup of coffee, not moving from the chair. Elijah gave her an indulgent smile. "Was there something else?"

"Um, sort of," she bit her lip, unsure how to phrase her question. She already had asked it once, but it was still bothering her. "Look, don't tell Klaus I asked because he already said yes, but…Kol mentioned that Klaus also liked to par-take in the whole drugging thing from time to time."

"I see," Elijah said, "and Klaus admitted to this?" She nodded. "It's true that Niklaus hasn't always been the most trustworthy and respectable male when it comes to women, but I can assure you he would never do something like that. I don't know why he would say otherwise. His ego is much too great to resort to something like that."

Caroline breathed a sigh of relief, a small laugh escaping from her at Elijah's dig at Klaus. "I didn't think he would."

* * *

Klaus had been in his room long enough. After his talk with Elijah, he had spent the rest of the morning sulking and sketching. When he looked up at the clock, two hours had gone by and the morning had bled into the afternoon. The sketches on his page were mostly of Elijah, with devil horns or other not so nice things drawn on his face. He had sat there, not moving or speaking, as Elijah chastised him for his actions at the bar and Elena stared at him with her judgmental eyes. He didn't bring up why he had gotten into the fight with Kol in the first place. He didn't want to bring Caroline into it. He saw now reason that she should continue to be brought into the drama.

Klaus wanted to protect her, from his PR minded brother. He didn't want Elijah spinning the story on Caroline to use as some cover up. So Klaus would take the punishment, Elena would do what she could to soften the situation in the media and it would be done. He had been making an effort to change, there were bound to be a few bumps in the plan.

As soon as he stopped thinking about how mad he was at Elijah, he started thinking about Caroline. She had kissed him. It had been amazing. Klaus had kissed dozens of women in his life, but kissing Caroline had been something else. Kissing Caroline was like being struck by lightening. His only worry was that it wouldn't occur twice.

He had hoped she would seek him out. He didn't want to be the one to go to her. But that was probably hoping for too much. Klaus knew that if he wanted Caroline, he would have to make the move. She was too respectable for her own good. She needed to be more selfish. She needed to know that there were worse sins than cheating on her boyfriend and that Klaus could definitely make it worth her while.

He licked his lips as he thought about what that might entail.

With his decision made, he stood up from his desk, shutting his sketchbook, and headed to his door. Just as he stepped into the hall, Elijah opened his door and caught him. Klaus groaned.

"Am I allowed out or am I grounded?" He snapped.

Elijah crooked his finger at him. "I need to talk to you."

Klaus rolled his eyes, but walked across the hall and into his brother's hotel room. He didn't bother sitting down, instead he stopped and stood in the middle of the room.

"What is it Elijah? Did you forget to reprimand me about something else? Is the economic crisis now my fault too? Or maybe all the starving children in Africa?"

"Stop talking Niklaus," Elijah said walking around to face him, "I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" Klaus deadpanned.

"Yes. Caroline stopped by here earlier. She explained what happened last night?"

Klaus cocked his head. "Caroline? What did she say?"

"She said that you intervened on her behalf when Kol tried to drug her drink," Elijah said, "I don't know why you didn't bother to tell me this before."

"You said you were growing tired of my excuses."

"I am. But this one is valid enough. However, you could have handled it a little less dramatically."

"Did she say anything else?" Klaus inquired.

"No," Elijah shook his head, regarding Klaus's expression, "was there anything she forgot to add?"

"No," was Klaus's quick reply, "that covers it."

Elijah nodded once, moving over to his desk table and shuffling around some papers. "Well then that is all. I'll try not to jump to conclusions next time."

Klaus pursed his lips. "You do that."

* * *

Caroline was feeling relaxed and refreshed. She was just coming back from a facial, mani/pedi, at the hotel spa. It was glorious. She had been pampered and massaged for the past two hours and was now feeling worry free. But all that went to hell as soon as she stepped off the elevator and saw Klaus standing in front of her room door. He was in mid-knock and turned in her direction when the elevator dinged. She froze for a moment, locking eyes with him, before darting back into the elevator. Her escape would have been flawless if not for the damn ring of the elevator bell.

She saw Klaus speed toward her and she prayed for the doors to close faster. But no luck. Just as they were about to shut Klaus made it and stuck his hand out, the doors snapping back open and allowing him inside. Caroline gave him a nervous smile, but he looked unamused.

"I just...forgot something…downstairs. Wanted to go back and get it," she stuttered.

"I'll go with you," Klaus said as the doors slid shut behind him. He remained standing in front of her, blocking any second attempt at escape. His arms were crossed over his chest. He didn't look the slightest bit amused by her attempted escape.

"Oh you don't need to I'll just—"

"You're avoiding me," he said. Caroline gulped. It was hard to avoid when he just laid it out on the table. One thing Caroline was learning about Klaus, he didn't avoid confrontation.

"Maybe. A little."

He loomed over her, which was almost worse than him speaking. Caroline wondered for a brief moment if he was going to try to kiss her again. Her heartbeat sped up as she remembered him pressing her against the wall last night and planting his lips on hers. She imagined him doing it again, here in the elevator. That's what always happened on Grey's Anatomy.

"I talked to Elijah," she said trying to change the subject, "I heard he was mad at you and I wanted to make sure he knew last night wasn't your fault."

"No. It wasn't my fault," Klaus said, but he wasn't talking about the fight. He was telling her something. That _she_ was the one who kissed _him_. Not the other way around. An important detail that Caroline wished they could just overlook.

The elevator dinged and the doors to the lobby slid open. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief as the people on the other side of the doors interrupted them to get on.

"We're busy," Klaus turned around and blocked the other hotel guests from entering. He gave them a serious glare and they backed off as he punched the button to close the doors. Caroline backed away from him and against the wall as the elevator started to move up again.

"Klaus! You can't just take over the elevator!" She protested.

"And you can't keep avoiding me," Klaus said, "come on Caroline, take a chance." He stepped closer to her, invading the space around her. The elevator was tiny and Caroline was overwhelmed by his proximity. "You know you want to."

"No," she said, starring at his chest, feeling the heat rise in her own, "I can't."

"Why?"

"Because I have a boyfriend."

"That doesn't bother me."

"It's bothers me," she countered meeting his eyes, "if you want to just screw some random girl, then go find someone else. I'm not that girl."

Klaus brought his hand up and grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger.

"I want _you_," he purred.

Caroline felt her stomach flip. His nose brushed against hers, making her knees go weak. She shut her eyes, not able to think straight with him looking at her like that and his voice sounding that way. All British and sexy and dangerous.

The elevator dinged again, but neither of them seemed to have heard it. An older couple cleared their throats to in form the couple that they were no longer alone. Klaus straightened up and pulled away from her to face whoever was behind him. The couple walked into the elevator, casting judgmental gazes in their direction and muttering to one another in what sounded like French. Caroline snuck forward and darted out as fast as she could, not caring what floor she was on. She just needed to get away. She couldn't deal with another ride in that shrinking elevator. The doors shut again before Klaus could follow her.

* * *

Caroline sat in her room, panicking for almost an hour that Klaus would come knocking. But he never did. Which only made her more anxious. She tried to keep herself busy by refolding her clothes, reorganizing her suitcase, flipping through her travel books, but her mind kept slipping back to Klaus. She needed to do something. Be around someone else. She wondered if Elena was back by now and grabbed her phone to give her friend a call.

"Hey Care what's up?" She answered on the second ring.

"Nothing, just bored," Caroline said, "you wanna grab dinner or something tonight?"

"No can do," Elena replied, "I'm on girlfriend duty tonight. Elijah set us up with a photo-op/dinner. I think he's hoping that if people see us being all couple-y they'll forget about the bar fight."

"Hope so," Caroline grumbled.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. I'm good. Have fun at your dinner."

"I doubt it," Elena muttered, with a promise to stop by her hotel room when she got back.

It turned out Jenna was busy too. She was going on a date with Alaric, since he was off body guard duty that night.

Caroline flopped back on her bed, letting out a dramatic groan. Her evening was looking rather crappy but she was determined not to sit around and be bored and restless the entire night. She would take herself out to dinner. As she moved off the bed to head into the bathroom and fix her makeup, her phone rang. Her mood lifted momentarily, hoping it was either Jenna or Elena calling her with a change of plans, but then she saw Tyler's number flash on her screen. A wave of guilt passed through her. She had been neglecting him, so she answered.

"Hey Tyler," she answered, walking into the bathroom and opening up her makeup bag.

"Hey how's Prague?"

"It was good," she replied, "I'm actually in Italy now."

"Oh. Well, what have you been doing there?"

"Nothing really," Caroline said. "Klaus had a concert so we went to that and then we went out to a bar."

"Oh, it's _Klaus_ now?"

Caroline switched her phone to her other ear, not noticing Tyler's sharp tone. "Huh?"

"What kind of bar?"

"I don't know," she said, "a normal bar."

She didn't really want to go into the whole story with Tyler. She knew how he would react. He would go all alpha male on her about Klaus stepping in to protect her. He wouldn't be able to appreciate the fact that someone had prevented his girlfriend from getting drugged and molested.

"Does that mean you're not going to tell me about the bar fight?"

Caroline stopped applying her lipstick and put her hands flat against the bathroom counter. Crap.

"It's not a big deal," she said.

"So what about the guy hanging all over you?"

This was news to her. What guy? Klaus hadn't touched her all night until they were standing in the alley and as far as she knew, no one was around to snap pictures of that.

"Tyler what are you talking about?"

"Don't play the dumb girl card with me Care okay? At least give me a little credit. My mom saw the story on some news show. How you were almost drugged, and then I looked online and saw pictures of you, Elena, _Klaus_, and some asshole with his hands all over you!"

So it wasn't Klaus he was talking about. It was Kol.

"Tyler it was nothing. He was one of Klaus's musician friends. He kept flirting with me but I wasn't into it," she tried to keep her voice as calm as possible.

"And what about this thing about someone drugging you?"

Caroline could feel her face turning red. Elijah must have leaked that part of the story. He was the only other person who knew other than Klaus and Elena, and neither of them had bothered to mention it earlier that morning. There was no doubt in her mind that everyone in Mystic Falls would know about the incident now, especially if Tyler of all people knew. She cringed at the thought.

"I didn't get drugged ok? I'm fine."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Tyler said.

"It wasn't a big deal," she ventured.

"It _is_ a big deal Caroline. You could have gotten hurt. And I don't like it. I don't like that you're there and I'm here," he said, "I want you to come home."

"I can't come home. Elena needs me to stay here," she said.

"Elena's a grown up Caroline, she can deal without you," he said, "I think you just don't want to come back."

"Well of course I don't!" Caroline said, her tone loosing its cool, "why would I want to come back to Mystic Falls when I have all of Europe still to see?"

Tyler swore. "See I knew it," he said, "if that's how you really feel, then why don't we just let this go and see what happens?"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying maybe we should take a break Caroline. If you want to follow Elena around Europe with a bunch of guys and act like you're so much better than me and all of you friends back here, then go and do it. But don't think I'm just going to sit around and wait for you to realize the mistake you're making."

"Tyler I—" but he cut her off and the call ended.

Caroline stared at herself in the mirror, bewildered. One minute he was mad at her because he couldn't be with her and the next he was breaking up with her? What the hell had just happened?

* * *

**Ok so some of you may being saying "What the heck? Tyler just breaks up with her...that seems weird." Well dear readers, things will be explained later. And remember, even in canon Tyler tends to have a quick temper and puts his foot in his mouth on occassion. Remember how badly he freaked out when he saw the drawing Klaus gave Caroline? So yeah.**

**Apologies again for the shortness, but reviews will definitely encourage me to update quicker *bribe bribe*.**

**follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you thank you thank you for all your lovely words and reviews for the last chapter. It definitely renewed my love for this story! Not that I was hating it...but you know how it goes sometimes...**

**More notes at the end, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

* * *

Klaus was exhausted. He never thought pretending to be someone's boyfriend would take so much energy. It seemed like it was worse than actually being a boyfriend. It was even worse that he couldn't drink. That was another part of his punishment for his behavior in the bar. No more drinking in public. What was it people said about good deeds always being punished?

It was painstaking to sit there for two hours and try to think of things to say to Elena, and to act interested in anything she talked about. They had absolutely nothing in common. He tried picturing her naked, like he usually did with hot, boring girls, but even that wasn't working. Brunettes didn't do much for him anymore. His current preferences seemed to be favoring blondes.

The elevator dinged and Klaus stepped out into the hall. He was more than ready to sit down with the tiny bottles of Jack he had nicked from the plane and perhaps do some sketching until he passed out. He halted though when he saw Caroline standing in front of Elena's door, shifting back and forth on her feet. She looked over at him, her eyes registering his appearance in the hallway. He half expected her to dash away again, but her shoulders slumped and she stayed put watching him as he walked toward her.

"Looking for Elena?" Klaus inquired. Caroline nodded. "She's grabbing a drink with Jenna. I think they're comparing dates."

"Oh," Caroline said, her tone deflated. She turned away from Klaus, heading back towards her room, with a hiccup and a stumble.

Klaus reached out to steady her, not touching her, but holding his arm out just in case.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Fine," she hiccupped again.

A tiny smile twitched at the corner of his lips. "You're drunk."

She gave him a wry stare. "No I'm not."

"Caroline…"

"Klaus…" she mimicked.

He chuckled. "Well if you are going to be drunk, then come with me," he said taking her arm. He led her over to his room, her feet shuffling on the carpet. They stopped in front of the door as Klaus unlocked it.

"Look I may be drunk but I'm not _that_ drunk," Caroline said. "There will be none of _that_ anymore."

Klaus slipped his key in the lock and glanced back at her. "Any of what sweetheart?"

She groaned. "Don't make me say it."

He laughed, leaving her out in the hall for a moment before returning with something hidden behind his back. She leaned up against his doorframe.

"You're not going to give me the whole alcohol doesn't solve your problems speech are you?"

"No love," he said, knowing he was the last person in the world who would ever give someone that speech, "but I will say that you should never drink alone." He removed his hand from behind his back, waving a bottle of merlot in the air in front of them with a smirk. "Come on."

Klaus led her downstairs, through the lobby, to a large empty banquet room near the back of the ground floor. It was late. The room was empty. The hotel staff had already finished their cleaning. Fresh linen table clothes covered the round tables. Every fancy upholstered chair was reset in its place. The flowered centerpieces had been changed for the next day's event. It was dark in the room, except for the light shining in through the windows, and then a small lamp that someone had left on over the grand piano in the front of the room.

He walked over to the piano, sliding down onto the bench and setting the bottle of wine in front of him. Klaus pulled a corkscrew that he had nicked from the bar earlier and opened the bottle of wine. He let it breathe for a moment, before passing it to Caroline, who still stood beside him.

"Here," he said, urging her to take it. Caroline stared at the bottle for a moment, before wrapping her fingers around the green glass neck and putting it to her mouth.

Caroline strolled around the piano, trailing her fingers across the reflective black surface and taking a few sips of wine. Klaus began to play, his fingers wandering across the keys, the sound of the music filling the room.

"Won't we get in trouble for being here?" Caroline asked.

He shrugged. "I doubt it."

He played a few random bars and then slipped into an actual song.

"David Bowie," Caroline announced, recognizing the song. Klaus looked up at her. Impressed. She grinned. "I told you I liked the 80s."

"I believe this one was from the 70s," he replied.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "You always have to be smarter than everyone."

Klaus smirked and turned his attention back to the keys, shifting into another song. He played a few bars and watched Caroline's mouth twist in thought, as she tried to guess again.

"Rolling Stones?" She asked. Klaus nodded, surprised again that this bubbly girl new The Stones well enough to recognize them on the piano.

"Ok, clever girl, how about this one?"

Klaus turned into another song, slower this time, more melancholy. Caroline took a slow sip and sat down next to him on the bench. He could see her ears stretching, trying to figure out what song he was playing as she stared into space. She still hadn't guessed as he played through the chorus and then ended the song. He looked over at her and she gave him a look that said she didn't have any guesses.

"The Smiths," he answered.

"Can't say I'm very familiar."

"Well no one is perfect," he quipped. Caroline gave him a wry look in return.

"So where did you learn to play piano?"

"My mother," Klaus said, "another artistic venture of hers. I always hated classical composers so she taught me how to play contemporary songs."

Caroline smiled passing the wine bottle to him. "What about your father? Is he artistic too?"

Klaus took a sip of the wine and let out a breath. "Why were you getting drunk alone this evening? Does it have any reason to do with why you were looking for Elena?"

"It's just girl stuff," Caroline replied, "just needed a friend. That's all."

Klaus put a hand to his chest, feigning offense. "Am I not a friend?"

"No," Caroline jibbed, "seriously you wouldn't understand."

"Come on," he said, "I dare you."

Caroline laughed, taking the bottle from him, trying to cover another hiccup. With another swig of liquid courage she took a deep breath and decided to bare her soul.

"Ok well don't get too excited," she began, "Tyler and I got into a fight. He saw a story on the news about the bar fight and flipped out on me."

"What story?"

"It mentioned me, and you keeping me from getting drugged. Guess it helped you out, making you looking like a hero instead of a drunk psycho," Caroline grimaced. Klaus swore under his breath. He was going to kill Elijah for this. "We broke up."

Klaus managed to keep his face neutral. "And was that his decision or your decision love?"

"His—mine—I don't know," she sighed, "it's so stupid. He broke up with me because he thinks that I think that I'm better than him."

"Do you think that?"

"No. Not in the way he thinks." Caroline stood up, needing to move, to pace. She was feeling worked up again. Restless. That feeling that kept coming up every since she left Mystic Falls. Like she was being pulled in every direction all at once and she didn't know which way to go. "It's just that I've been here and everywhere else and experiencing all this stuff. I thought getting out of Mystic Falls would just get all this out of my system, you know? That urge to go and see things and experience the world?"

"I believe they call that wanderlust," Klaus said.

"Wanderlust," she repeated, "I thought it would go away. But it's just gotten worse. I miss home, I really do. But when I think about going back, I just feel…sad." Her shoulders slumped, as if she was admitting defeat when she admitted that the idea of going home made her unhappy.

"You don't have to go home Caroline."

"I do though. Don't I? I mean what else is there? I have a life, a job, I used to have a boyfriend," she laughed without humor, taking another drink of wine, "Tyler's right. I just don't know what I want."

Klaus watched her gulp more wine, her brows knitting together and her forehead wrinkling in frustration. She was working very hard to solve a problem right that second that had no easy answer. Before he could say anything she continued.

"How do people figure out what they want? Elena knew she wanted to be an actress, so she became an actress. Bonnie knows she wants to be this kickass surgeon, so she went to med school. Jeremy's going to be this great illustrator. Who am I going to be?"

"Who do you want to be?"

"That's the problem. I don't know. I thought I wanted my life in Mystic Falls. Coach cheerleading and get married and be a mom and plan fundraisers and bake sales. But now it's like—I don't know—this whole massive world out there of anything and I don't even know where to start. How do I choose?"

Her eyes questioned him, but he didn't have an answer. He never had a choice to make. They sat there for a moment, Klaus trying to think of something to say before she leaned forward and captured his lips with hers. Klaus placed his hand on her hip, kissing her back briefly, before pulling away. This was what he wanted, what he had been thinking about since the night before but now something seemed off.

"What are you doing love," he said trying to keep his voice light.

"I'm making a choice," she replied. She set the wine bottle down on the piano and took his face in her hands, kissing him again. Her body shifted forward and pressed into his. Klaus could feel the softness of her breasts against his chest, and he wanted so badly to wrap his hands around her waist and pull her even closer. But instead he pushed his hands against her arms and detached from her.

"What's wrong," she asked, her lips swollen and pink from the wine. Another little hiccup chirped from her lungs and it was so damn cute that he was ready to throw her on top of the piano and ravish her right there. Damn anyone who might walk in on them!

He dragged a hand over his face. "Of course now is the moment I start developing morals," he muttered.

"What?" She gave him a confused look.

"I think you should go back to your room." Her eyebrow rose in suggestion causing Klaus to hate himself even more. "I mean alone."

"Why?"

He groaned, hating the way she pulled her lip between her teeth. "Don't make me explain Caroline. I'm trying to avoid something I know we'll both regret."

Caroline nodded, but she didn't move. Neither did Klaus. They were both anchored to the moment. She knew he was right. She should leave. She should go back to her room and shut her door and go to bed. Alone. But she just couldn't make herself walk away. She was tired of making good decisions. What had making good decisions gotten her lately? If Tyler was going to blame her for fooling around with other guys, then she was going to at least reap the perks of the punishment.

"I wouldn't," she murmured.

"Wouldn't what?" Klaus asked.

"Regret it. I wouldn't regret it." One last attempt. She leaned forward and kissed him a third time, opening her mouth and letting his tongue past her lips. Klaus place his hand behind her head and deepened the kiss, enjoying the taste of the wine on her tongue. Her hands went to the buttons of her blouse and she loosened each of them, one by one, revealing a pink lace bra underneath. He felt her movements as he kissed her and regained enough of his senses to push her back as he realized they were going too far once again.

"Caroline don't," he said standing and moving away from her. Undaunted, she stood up from the bench and removed her shirt, letting it fall to the floor. Her creamy skin seemed to glow under the yellow piano lamp and she stepped toward him, her hips swaying. Klaus gritted his teeth, his hands twitching at his sides, trying to keep the selfish male part of him take control. But the way she was walking her fingers across his chest wasn't helping. He pulled her hand away. "I'm serious. Don't."

"Please Klaus," her voice sounded raw. Vulnerable. He wanted to give in. He had been thinking about it just a few hours ago. How he didn't care about her boyfriend or her life at home or any of the consequences of sleeping with her. Nothing mattered but getting her into bed. But that wasn't true. None of that had mattered before, when she was just a stunning blonde in a bar, without a name. But the minute she had taken his hand and introduced herself with that coy smile, everything had changed.

"Is this what you really want?" He asked her, "cheap, drunken revenge sex on a table with someone you aren't entirely sure you don't hate?" Her face changed and he could see the pain of rejection wash over her features. "I want you Caroline. But you're better than this. You want more. You deserve more. You're worth more."

Her eyes flicked down to their feet and she took a step back from him. "You're right," she said, "what am I doing?" She looked back up and him and continued to back away. "I'm gonna go."

Caroline bent down and grabbed her shirt off the floor, quickly putting it back on and closing it up as she rushed out of the banquet room. Klaus gritted his teeth and grabbed the bottle of wine, the taste now reminding him of her kiss. Now his evening plans included getting drunk, sketching, and cold showers. Bloody fantastic.

* * *

The morning sun streamed in through the window, a yellow beam shining right across Caroline's eyelids. She groaned. She had forgotten to shut the curtains last night before she fell into bed. She had spent a good half hour crying from embarrassment, then another half hour feeling pathetic before she fell asleep. She didn't know what she was going to do now that she was freshly single. But one thing she did know for sure: No more drinking.

She had come on to Klaus last night. She had kissed him. She had taken her clothes off in front of him. And he had rejected her. Half of it was because of the alcohol and the other half was because she knew she was just a big idiot. She was acting like the bratty desperate for attention mean girl she had been back in high school and she hated it. How was she ever going to face him again? God, she hoped he didn't tell Elena or Elijah what happened. Her hands covered her face as she felt a wave of embarrassment attacked her, even though no one was around to see her.

She rolled over and checked the time on her phone. It would be afternoon in Mystic Falls. She should call Tyler. She should try to smooth things over with him. He would be calmer now that he had a chance to sleep and ready to talk things out in a rational and grown up way. Caroline could imagine him going to bed angry and then getting up that morning, still a little pissed, but going for a run or lifting weights to blow off steam like he always did. By now he would understand that he was overreacting and they would mend things.

Her thumb brushed over her phone to unlock it and she pulled up Tyler's number, hovering over it. She hesitated, a brief moment of the night before flashing in her mind. Of Klaus and his dimples and how sexy he looked playing piano, his lips slightly stained by the wine, the collar of his shirt open revealing his lean chest, the way he had denied her when she started taking her clothes off.

_ You're worth more._

A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts and she put her phone down, trudging toward the door, debating whether or not she should answer. She looked through the peep hole to see that it was Elena—and not Klaus—standing on the other side. Caroline opened the door and let her in.

"Morning," she said as Elena walked in with two coffees.

"Sorry I wasn't around last night," Elena said passing Caroline one of the cups, "I was with Jenna. I saw Klaus downstairs this morning, he said you were looking for me last night."

Caroline almost choked on her coffee. "Did he say anything else?"

Elena shook her head. "No," she sat back in the easy chair across from the bed, "What'd you need?"

"Just some girl chat," Caroline said, sitting back down on her bed and folding her legs underneath her, "Tyler and I kind of broke up."

"What?" Elena's eyes widened. "What happened?"

Caroline explained the story to her, about her phone call with Tyler and their fight and his overreaction. When she was finished, Elena looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that your name would be brought into the whole thing," Elena said, "I'll talk to Elijah about keeping you out of the press."

"It's not your fault," Caroline said.

"No. But it isn't ok that he used you to spin the story."

"True," Caroline said, "but the damage is done."

"Well Tyler overreacted. He should know that you aren't going to cheat on him or whatever insane ideas he has in his head. I mean the only guys we've been around are Elijah and Klaus. Not like you're going to go for either of them."

Caroline laughed uncomfortably and nodded. "Yeah I mean Elijah is like a 60 year old man sometimes and Klaus is…"she struggled for a word.

"Awful. Alcoholic. Asshole." Elena provided, "and those are just the A's."

She nodded again and took a sip of her coffee as an excuse not to continue talking about Klaus. Elena's phone rang and she pulled it out of the back pocket of her jeans, making a face when she saw the name on the caller ID.

"What was that?" Caroline asked.

"Nothing," Elena said slipping her phone back into her pocket, "just Damon."

Elena took a sip of her coffee, her eyes flicking away. Caroline regarded her carefully. Something seemed fishy to her.

"Why is your ex-boyfriend's brother calling you?"

Elena shrugged and the phone rang again. This time she pulled it out of her pocket and immediately denied the call, banishing Damon to voicemail. She switched off her phone and put it back in her pocket.

"He's being quite persistent," Caroline observed, "are you sure it isn't an emergency."

"It's not an emergency."

"Well I just can't think of any other reason that—"

"We kissed!" Elena exclaimed. Caroline almost choked on her coffee for the second time that morning.

"You what?! When?"

Elena grumbled and put her hand to her forehead. "About a year ago."

"A whole year? Must have been some kiss," Caroline muttered. She did a quick calculation in her head. "Wait, weren't you still with Stefan about a year ago?" Elena nodded slowly and Caroline's jaw dropped. "Ok spill."

Elena sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get out of it now. "Stefan and I were just fighting so much and he was gone doing his thing all the time and Damon and I started hanging out more. He would go to events with me that Stefan had to miss. And then one night we kissed."

"Did you guys…?"

"No!" She said quickly, "Not until later. Stefan and I broke up not long after and then I started seeing Damon for about a month."

"Why didn't I know any of this?" Caroline was a little hurt. They knew everything about each other. There had never been any secrets between her and Elena and Bonnie too. They new every dirty detail about each other's lives since the first day of kindergarten. Or so Caroline thought. But then, she shouldn't be the one making judgments about secret keeping. Pot and kettle anyone?

"We kept it a secret. We didn't want to hurt Stefan's feelings. Not to mention dealing with the press gossip and on top of all Mystic Falls knowing."

Caroline nodded. She didn't know which would be worse. Slanderous words from entertainment news shows about Elena coming between two brothers or gossiping old biddies in the Mystic Falls town square.

"So why didn't you two ride off into the sunset?"

"I ended it with him. Damon was just very intense and controlling. And I just couldn't deal with Stefan knowing and getting hurt even more."

"But he's still calling you?"

"He hasn't for a while until last week. I'm guessing he's heard about Klaus. He was always hoping that after some time alone, I would want to get back together with him."

"And you don't?"

Elena shook her head. "No. I feel bad. I know I needed to break up with Stefan and I feel like, looking back on it, I just agreed to be with Damon because I was bored. I wanted attention that Stefan wasn't giving me anymore. And I ended up hurting more people because of it. I should have just been honest with Stefan and not dragged Damon into it."

Caroline took another sip of coffee, relating to Elena's words more than her friend knew. She understood being bored. She hadn't realized she was bored until she went on this trip. Even though the thought of leaving Mystic Falls permanently terrified her, she still didn't want to give up the chance to experience a different life.

Tyler didn't understand that. That was what the whole fight was about right? He didn't understand that she wanted to try something else. He was too worried that something else wouldn't include him. But when she thought about it, she wasn't sure it would either. She tried to picture him coming along with her around Europe and she just couldn't see it. She couldn't see him going with her to museums and site seeing. He'd get just as bored as she did and would let her quit. He wouldn't challenge her. He didn't motivate her. It wasn't that she felt bored with Tyler she just needed… more.

* * *

**So if you guys read my drabbles, that Klaus/Caroline scene might look a little familiar. I wrote it in a drabble a while ago and decided to repurpose it in this fic because I loved it so much and it just seemed to fit. It was also partially inspired by Pretty Woman (piano sex scene..yes please!)**

**And if you want to know the songs Klaus plays are:**  
**Lady Grinning Soul - David Bowie**  
**Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones**  
**Please please please let me get what I want - The Smiths**

**Secondly, a couple of you have asked why Elena didn't speak up and tell Elijah about Klaus saving Caroline at the bar. Well, two reasons. One) She REALLY doesn't like Klaus at all so mostly she just sees that Kol was Klaus's friend and it was his fault that he was there in the first place and Two) Elena is a little self absorbed in this fic if you haven't noticed. I think she tends to be on the show too. Not that I'm an Elena hater, I'm not a hater of any character, but I think it's just one of her character flaws.**

**And I had to add that bit about Elena/Stefan/Damon (I'm a Delena shipper in case you are wondering) but I just thought it would be a nice parallel to Caroline's inner struggles about making good decisions and how/when to choose to be selfish and what consequences can result.**

**Anyways...analyzing and theorize and review about what shall happen next!**

**Also, don't worry! Klaus will be confronting Elijah in the next chapter about his little story slip!**

**follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


	7. Chapter 7

**Happy Halloween and happy update! **

**Thanks again for all the reviews on the last chapter. I'm not usually a cheesy romantic, but I LOVE Pretty Woman, so I like to homage romantic scenes that I actually like from time to time. **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! Everyone have a great holiday and stay safe :)**

* * *

"This is a new low for you Elijah."

Elijah flicked the top half of his newspaper down to see Klaus, standing over his café table. He offered an indulgent glare in answer to his brother's menacing smirk.

"I'm surprised to see you awake so early Niklaus. Please have a seat brother and tell me what I've done to offend you," Elijah gestured to the vacant chair across from him. Klaus yanked on the wooden chair, its legs scrapping across the floor, the sound disturbing the morning serenity of the café.

"It's not me you've offended," Klaus replied as he sat, "It's Caroline."

At that Elijah's expression changed from irritated to concerned. "I'm not sure I understand."

"The story, about the bar fight and her almost being drugged. That wasn't meant to be used as a spin."

"I assure you, her name was kept out of it."

"People she knows from her hometown found out about it. She fought with her boyfriend about it."

"I see," Elijah said, "well I'll speak to Katherine about keeping Caroline's name out of the press in the future."

"That isn't the point Elijah. The story should have never been leaked in the first place."

Elijah put down his newspaper, smoothing it out across the table. "I'm sorry that you don't approve Niklaus and I regret if Caroline was hurt by the exposure, but my job is to worry about you. Sometimes I have to make the tough call to protect what you and I have built."

Klaus glowered at his brother, but knew he was right. He just hated that Caroline had gotten caught in the crossfire.

"Besides," Elijah quipped, "doesn't her fighting with her boyfriend make it easier for you?"

Klaus's angry expression softened a bit. "I thought you didn't approve."

"I don't," Elijah said raising his delicate cup of espresso to his lips, "you're taken and she is much too good for you."

Klaus chuckled. Even Elijah's minor insults couldn't bring him down that morning. He was in much too good of a mood from the night before. He'd gone to bed consumed with thoughts of Caroline and their late night chat in the banquet room. The way she kissed him. The way her white skin glowed in the darkness. The way her body felt in his hands for those few brief touches. Even the cold shower he took after he had returned to his room had done nothing to dispel the thoughts, and slight regret, at not following through when she had offered the one thing he had been wanting for days.

However, there was a silver lining to it all. He knew it would be smooth sailing with Caroline from there on out. She could no longer deny that she was attracted to him. He just needed her to admit it when she wasn't drunk. Her attempt at seduction had revealed her true desires. She would have succeeded too if he hadn't felt the need to be all moral at that moment. Christ, what was happening to him?

"I do have some good news," Elijah said breaking Klaus away from him musings.

"Our ideas of good news usually differ," Klaus muttered, ordering an espresso for himself as the café waitress hustled over to their table.

"We've rescheduled a bit. We'll be going to London tomorrow," Elijah told him.

Klaus cocked his head. "London?"

"Yes. I've invited Elena and the others to stay at our home with us while we are there."

Klaus smiled. "And we'll see Rebekah?"

"And we'll see Rebekah," Elijah answered with a smile that mirrored Klaus's.

Klaus's mood soared even higher. He couldn't wait to see his baby sister; it had been months of nothing but phones calls and emails between them. No doubt she would be slap him the moment she laid eyes on him for missing the run of her latest show on the West End. But she was always easy to win over with a few smiles and gifts.

"Well I'm off, I have a conference call with Katherine in fifteen minutes," Elijah said, standing and tossing a few bills on the table.

"Is that what you two call it?" Klaus quipped, knowing that Elijah hated to be teased, especially about sex.

Elijah just chuckled and shook his head. "Tell me, did Caroline enjoy the piano concert last night?"

Elijah took his small victory in the eye roll that Klaus gave him. Of course Elijah already knew: he always knew everything.

* * *

In effort to avoid Klaus, Caroline spent her day outside of the hotel, seeing the sights that Milan had to offer. One of her favorites was the Sforza Castle.; she had never stood in a castle before. She paid for the tour and listened closely as the guide led them from room to room explaining the history of Italy and of the castle. In the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder what Klaus would be saying about everything. He'd probably be whispering in her ear about what an idiot the tour guide was and how he was would make a much better guide. Then he'd probably tack on some sort of sexual innuendo about giving her a private tour or something. She giggled at the thought, almost as if he was right there next to her. The woman next to her frowned at the outburst and Caroline muttered an apology.

Just before sunset, Caroline made it to the Duomo. It was another church, but Caroline was beginning to appreciate the gothic beauty of cathedrals. She meandered through the pews, listening to her iPod, looking up at the massive paintings that hung mid air from the ceiling. She found her way up to the roof of the Duomo. It was something else that she had read about in her guidebook. She strolled across the roof, the music drifting through her earbuds creating the perfect soundtrack to the moment. The view between the great spires was hazy, like a faraway dream, but she could still see the vast expanse of the city from where she stood. Dark blue, the sky purple, and the buildings glowing yellow. It was a breath-taking array of color, so dazzling and bright. Up on the rooftop, with the wind in her hair and city below her, Caroline felt like the moment was painted just for her; the whole vision was truly amazing and she would never see anything like it anywhere else on the planet.

A yawn crept up out of her mouth and she realized she should probably be getting back. Elena had mentioned that they would be going to London the next day; a slight change in the original plans. It meant less time in Paris, which would have been their next stop, but Caroline was excited to see London.

Caroline stifled another yawn as she opened the door to her hotel room. Something crunched under her foot as she walked through the doorway, and with a glance down she spied a folded piece of paper on the floor under her shoe. Letting the door close, she picked up the paper and tossed her bag onto the bed. There was something very familiar about the creamy piece of paper in her hand. Something that made her not want to open it and face what was inside. But she opened it anyways and it was just what she expected. Another drawing. This time of a piano, that looked just like the one she had been sitting in front of the night before. At the top of the drawing was a sketch of just her eyes, looking out from behind long luscious lashes. The eyes were hooded and sensuous. Once again she stared at the likeness of herself, unable to believe that's how she really looked. That anyone could see her that way.

Below the drawing was another note.

_Can't avoid me forever love._

Well technically he was right, she thought. She couldn't avoid him forever because they weren't going to live forever. She smiled at her own joke and slipped the paper into her bag, pressing it between the travel guide so it wouldn't get ruined. Just as she had done with the other drawing he had given her.

* * *

"Brothers!" The youngest, and only female, Mikaelson sibling exclaimed as she threw her arms around Elijah and Klaus. The two of them squeezed her back, Klaus lifting her a bit off the ground as he returned her hug. Caroline and Elena watched as they stood on the steps to the Mikaelson home. They Caroline shuffled her feet and Elena glanced down at her phone, both girls feeling a bit awkward, like the were intruding on their family reunion. Caroline took the moment to look up at the house, examining it from the outside.

It was very large. Larger than the old, hulking mansions back in Mystic Falls. Rebekah lived there by herself, now that both of their parents were dead. That was another thing Caroline had picked up during their trip to London. She had been chatting with Elena, who had gotten the skinny from Elijah on some of the family history. Their mother, Esther had died of cancer and Mikael, the father, had passed on a few years ago. It was Rebekah who now resided in their family home, which had been in Mikael's family for generations. It looked old. Caroline could imagine Jane Austen using this house as inspiration in one of her novels.

"I should be mad at you. Both of you," Rebekah said as they gathered into the house. They walked through the foyer, where a grand staircase awaited. Caroline gaped at the vastness of the house. It seemed liked a lot of space for just one girl.

"You completely missed the run of my last show," she continued to chide, "even after it was extended."

"Apologies sister," Klaus replied. "I'm sure I will be able to make it up to you."

"You can try," she said, "although I did hear about your knocking Kol's teeth out in Italy."

"Yes well," Elijah cut in, "that's not precisely how it happened."

"I'm only sorry I wasn't there to see it," Rebekah said. "I'd like to have done the job myself."

Caroline and Elena were giving each other speculative looks over Rebekah's comments when the female Mikaelson finally noticed their presence behind her brothers.

"I see you've brought…company." Her statement was dripping with obvious disdain, her cool blue stare filling the warm family atmosphere that had surrounded them a moment ago with ice.

Elena cleared her throat, stepping forward first, her hand extended. "Hi, I'm Elena Gil—"

"I know who you are," Rebekah replied with a saccharine smile, "and you?" The second was directed a Caroline.

"Caroline. Forbes."

"I don't believe I've ever heard of you," Rebekah said. Either Rebekah wasn't a very good actress or she wasn't even trying to pretend to be polite to either of them.

"Umm I don't know why you would have," Caroline shrugged, at least making an attempt to keep the introduction light.

"Are you an actress Caroline? A singer?"

"How about we save the inquisition until later," Klaus interrupted, stepping in front of his sister. "At least until we've settled."

* * *

"Rebekah dated Kol for almost two years. They were practically engaged until she broke it off with him because she found out he sleeping with groupies."

Elena and Caroline sat poolside, enjoying the afternoon at the Mikaelson home. As it turned out, Rebekah didn't live there alone. Not exactly. She lived with a small staff of maids and butler, one of the whom served the girls with lemonade and sandwiches as they bathed in the sun. Caroline smiled and thanked the older woman. She wasn't used to being waited on hand and foot. It felt so old fashioned.

It had been quite some time since she'd gotten the chance to relax and gossip with Elena, it was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of stardom. Elijah had given her some very juicy family stories. Like, the whole sordid affair between Rebekah and Kol. It was an absolute scandal, Kol trying to marry Rebekah for her money, almost like a soap opera come to life. When they had broken up, Rebekah felt her reputation was so tarnished that she had ran away to the south of France for three months until a new source of disgrace had emerged and everyone had forgotten about her misfortune.

"I never realized Elijah was such a gossip queen," Caroline joked, taking a sip of her pink lemonade. It was fresh and perfect, half sweet, half sour.

"He's easy to talk to, once you get to know him," she replied, "have you talked to Tyler since the other night?"

Caroline sighed. No. She hadn't. If she were being honest, calling Tyler had slipped her mind.

"I don't know if he has a point. Maybe he's right. Maybe I should just see him when I get back to Mystic Falls. I don't know if this is something that will be solved over the phone," Caroline hedged.

"Tyler loves you," Elena reassured her, "he may have said he wouldn't wait, but he will."

"Maybe," Caroline muttered, "he was quite the man-whore back in high school, if you remember." She laughed. Tyler had been a total dog when they were teenagers, going after anything with boobs. But by the time Caroline started dating him, she never worried about Tyler cheating on her. She trusted him. Too bad she hadn't really deserved that trust. She was the one who was kissing other guys while her boyfriend was far away. Or ex-boyfriend. Technically.

"Hey," Elena said noticing her friend's frown, "you have nothing to worry about I promise. You two will make it."

Caroline gave her a weak smile. Elena still didn't know about Klaus. She wanted to tell her something. She needed Elena's advice. Caroline had managed to successfully avoid him for the better part of two days, but she knew the clock was ticking. He wouldn't let her go for very long. In her time alone the day before, she had been thinking about him non-stop; over-analyzing everything he did and said, in typical female fashion. But that only meant one thing. She had it bad. She didn't want to have it bad. For some reason, she couldn't shake the intuition churning in her gut that having feelings for Klaus would only end in heartbreak.

Caroline cleared her throat. "Elena I—"

She was interrupted by the sound of the sliding glass door behind them and turned to see Rebekah stepping through it.

"Oh," the blonde frowned, "I see you two are making yourselves at home."

"Care to join us?" Elena asked out of politeness.

"I'll just come back later," Rebekah said, stepping back inside and shutting the door behind her. Caroline watched her disappear into the house before speaking.

"Someone seems to have a stick up their ass," Caroline observed.

"Elijah warned me about her," Elena said, "he told me she can be very unfriendly to her brothers' girlfriends." Caroline nodded. The protective sister thing. It made sense. "Something tells me she won't like me any more after she finds out the relationship is fake."

"She's an actress. Those types of girls are always such drama queens," Caroline said.

"Hey!" Elena yelled, throwing a piece of ice from her glass at Caroline. She threw up her hand to shield herself and laughed.

* * *

Caroline walked up the stairs, heading for her guest room to take a shower and get ready for dinner. Her hand trailed along the wooden bannister as her bare feet padded across the lush green carpet. The Mikaelson home had retained its air of agelessness in the way that it was decorated. It must have been a strange place to grow up in, she mused. It reminded her of the homes she had seen in paintings at the museums she'd been visiting. Her red bikini must look quite out of place in the posh corridors. She clutched her towel a little bit tighter around her body as she reached the top of the stairs and turned in the direction of her room.

She and Elena had made plans to continue their girls' day into the evening. Dinner and drinks were on the schedule for that night; Elijah had caught them in the kitchen and suggested a nice place they could go that was nearby, then he pulled Elena away to discuss a few upcoming press opportunities while they were staying in London. Caroline felt a little bad for Elena. Her friend had done nothing but work, work, work since they had left Mystic Falls. She barely had a moment to rest. Caroline was feeling a bit tired herself; after a morning of travelling and an afternoon spent baking under the heat of the sun, the exhaustion was beginning to weigh on Caroline's shoulders. But despite the fact that her energy was waning, she refused to miss out on a fancy London dinner.

Just as she reached her room, with thoughts of a luxurious bubble bath tickling her brain, the door to the room across from hers whipped open. Klaus stood in the doorway with a victorious grin on his face.

"It's about time love."

"What are you doing in there?" Caroline asked.

"It's my room," he answered, as if it were obvious. Caroline took a minute to realize that the room she had been given was directly across the hall from Klaus's. Giving him access to her comings and goings and also ensuring the fact that they would run into one another sooner rather than later.

"How convenient," she muttered, turning from him and walking into her room.

She could hear Klaus follow her, and she sighed. As long as he was there, she might as well nip this thing in the bud.

"Look Klaus we need to—"

But she was stopped as Klaus's lips came crashing down on hers. A noise of surprise tickled the back of her throat as he slipped his hands behind her neck. His mouth slanted over hers, his tongue darting past her lips, sending a wave of excitement through her that she felt all the way down to her toes. Klaus nipped at her lips a few times, before releasing her and stepping back. Caroline's knees felt like jelly. She almost stepped back toward him just to keep her balance, but the satisfied smirk on his lips kept her in check.

"Talk," she finished her earlier sentence, sounding a little breathless, "we need to talk."

"So talk," Klaus said leaning against the footboard of her bed.

Caroline opened her mouth but no words came out. She put a hand to her forehead. "I forgot what I was going to say."

"Good," Klaus purred. He advanced again, his stare sending chills down her spine.

"Stop, no," she appealed placing her hand on his chest to hold him off. Bad move. Touching him did not help her concentrate. "Look I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression last night…"

"You mean the impression that you want me?" He asked, "That in spite of your constant denial, you are attracted to me. Now what would have given me that idea?"

"Klaus—"

"Was it the part where you mouth attacked me," he continued wrapping his fingers around her arms, "or the part where you started taking your clothes off?"

He brought her closer again, dipping his head down toward her neck, brushing his nose along the tip of her ear.

"I can't concentrate with you doing that," her shakey voice betraying her.

"Mmm," he hummed, "and I can't concentrate with you in this tiny swimsuit."

His fingers trailed from the nape of her neck, down her spine and over the knot holding her bikini in place. Caroline's breath caught as she felt him pause, wondering if he would pull the string and take it off. But his hands continued their exploration of her bare skin, finding their satisfaction in what was already being revealed by her 'tiny swimsuit'.

His teeth nipped her ear and a quite moan rumbled in her throat. His nose traced a line from her temple, down across her jaw. Caroline's eyes fell shut as his lips brushed across hers, and continued to the other side of her face. He smelled so good. She knew it was some expensive cologne he wore, but it made him that much more male and sexy. Her throat bobbed as he continued to skim his lips down her collarbone. He was barely touching her and already her head was spinning. She wondered what it would have been like if they had finished what had started by the piano that one night. A wave of fantasies flashed behind her eyelids. Her mouth opened in a silent gasp as Klaus's teeth nipped her clavicle.

Just as she was beginning to imagine herself as Julie Roberts, sprawled across the top of the hotel piano in _Pretty Woman_, Klaus pulled away.

"There now that that is done. What was it you wanted to say love?"

Caroline blinked at him a couple times, trying to regain focus. The world had gone a bit hazy now. Klaus's face remained passive, as if he was unaffected by the past few minutes, but she knew better. She had a feeling that if she let her eyes drop south, she'd see just how much he had been…affected. The devilish man was toying with her.

"I wanted to say that the other night was…"

"A mistake?"

"Would you stop interrupting," she snapped, stomping her foot like a child, "yes a mistake."

Klaus chuckled; she didn't like it one bit. "You know, you're becoming thoroughly predictable."

"I am not!"

"Let me guess," Klaus said, "you feel bad because you aren't entirely sure that things are wrapped up with your boyfriend and you don't want to commit any sins while separated, just so you won't have to feel even more guilty when the two of you do eventually kiss and make up."

"No that wasn't what I was going to say at all," Klaus's eyebrows shot up in disbelief, "it's not!"

"Then what _were_ you going to say?"

Caroline had to think fast, because that was what she was exactly what she was going to say; but she didn't want to be predictable. It wasn't only about feeling guilt—and hearing it from his mouth made her feel even worse—but it was also the fact that she was terrified that any involvement with Klaus would just end in a broken heart; hers.

"I believe your primary excuse to me was the presence of a boyfriend in your life," Klaus helped her, "a fact which I was willing to overlook, but now that it seems that little bump has been smoothed over…"

"Thanks for the sympathy."

Klaus chuckled. "You don't seem that broken up about it."

"You know," Caroline said, "your dick remarks are not helping your case."

"I could just go back to kissing you then."

Caroline's mouth twisted. "Fine. If I admit that yes I am attracted to you, will you leave me alone?"

"That seems a bit counter-productive love."

Caroline rolled her eyes, but smiled. "You know what I mean."

"I do," he smiled, reaching for her again and giving her another thorough kiss. Caroline pulled back and smiled, an odd sense of relief filling her. Klaus returned her grin and then, with another kiss to her forehead, released her and headed for her door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Caroline exclaimed.

"You have a dinner to get dressed for I believe," Klaus said, "besides, I think you deserve a little bit of your own medicine love, now that you've finally decided to drop your act of denial."

Caroline pursed her lips. "Oh really?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"Fine," Caroline shrugged, "I'll probably have come to my senses after dinner anyways."

Klaus smirked, not giving in to her bait. "Then I guess you'll have nothing to worry about."

* * *

It was barely noon the next day and the Mikaelson household was in a uproar. Rebekah had decided that she wanted to throw a small party to celebrate her brothers' homecoming. The blonde girl had been up at the crack of dawn running around the house, ordering the staff about, making calls and terrifying people into giving her exactly what she wanted when she wanted it.

"Yes I know it's incredibly last minute," Caroline heard Rebekah groan into the phone as she stepped into the kitchen. She hadn't wanted to take the risk earlier that morning, but since she skipped breakfast, her stomach was now screaming at her for lunch. "We can pay you double," Rebekah's upper lip twitched as she watched Caroline enter the room, but other than that she didn't pay her any attention. "Fine! Call me right back."

She let out a loud huff, crossing something off the list in front of her with a violent flick of her pen. "Can't I catch a bloody break?"

Caroline watched her manicured fingers clack against the screen off her phone, writing out a text and muttering to herself about unreliable hypocrites.

"Maybe I can help," Caroline ventured, "this is pretty much what I do back home. Throw parties and stuff."

The look Rebekah gave her made her feel like she was a silly little girl, who had just shuffled out of the closet in her mother's pearls and heels and expected to be invited to the grown-ups table.

"I'm sure your party planning is perfect for whatever po-dunk town you are from," Rebekah said, "but this is serious. People who matter will be attending tonight. I don't want to be embarrassed."

With that remark, Rebekah flipped her notebook shut, taking it and her phone and leaving Caroline in the kitchen, her heels clacking against the tile as she strutted away. Wow. And Caroline had thought she had been a mean girl. Rebekah could definitely teach the wicked witch of the west a thing or two about being down right nasty.

"Forgive Rebekah, she forgets her manners."

Caroline turned around to see Elijah standing behind her in the doorway to the kitchen. He was wearing a full suit, even though he was in his own home. Caroline wondered if he ever wore shorts or t-shirts. The image that came to mind looked quite funny and she decided that no, he probably didn't.

"It's ok," she said, "I've dealt with bigger bitches than her." She covered her mouth, feeling sheepish at insulting his sister to his face. "Sorry."

Elijah waved her off, stepping into the kitchen. He walked around the island counter and stood across from her. "It's not a problem. Rebekah grew up without our mother for most of her life. She's used to being the alpha female. When other women are present she tends to get…territorial."

"I don't know why she's territorial," Caroline mused, grabbing an apple from the bowl in the center of the island and taking a large bite, "it's not like I'm dating one of you."

Elijah smiled. "Rebekah tends to have a sixth sense about these things. And she and Klaus are quite close. I wouldn't be surprised if he mentioned you to her already."

Caroline swallowed her apple. "What do you mean?"

She tried to play it aloof, but it was clear by the slight raise in Elijah's brow that there was no point in denying anything. He already knew. Caroline doubted Klaus had mentioned anything to him, it was like the eldest Mikaelson had some sort of super power that made him all-knowing.

"I've noticed the small changes in my brother over the past week and a half," he said, "granted, they didn't come from the source I thought they would but either way they are appreciated."

Caroline took another bite of apple to avoid having to respond. She wasn't sure that she was the source of the so called "changes" Elijah mentioned. Klaus didn't seem like a man who would change for anyone, least of all her. She couldn't imagine a guy like him being so committed to a conquest that he would shift his personality.

"I'm paying you a compliment Caroline," he said to her when she didn't respond.

"Thank you?" Caroline supplied with a half grin.

"I respect both you and Elena. Which is why I would like to give you a piece of advice, if you'll accept it." Caroline nodded. "My brother, for all his good intentions, though they are few, has a very addictive personality. He tends to move from one obsession to the next. As much as I appreciate the influence you have over him, I would be very sad to see you hurt."

"But it was okay if Elena was hurt in the process?" She countered. Elijah shook his head, rearranging the fruit in the bowl that sat between them. It seemed to be a nervous habit of his.

"No," he said, "but there were and are not feelings involved there."

"There's nothing going on between me and Klaus," Caroline said quickly. A little too quickly.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know," he said, taking his leave of the kitchen, "just in case."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed Rebekah being her usual elitest, snobby self. There will be more of her to come. And did you guys catch the little nod to Rebekol I threw in there? Yes, I crackship them even though it's weird...but in this it's legit cause they aren't related!**

**Let me know what you thought of everything in the reviews :)**

**Annnnd, just as a little shameless self promotion: A few of you have mentioned that this is your first Human Klaroline Fic you've read or that you are really enjoying it as a human fic even though you usually don't read stories like that! Awesome! I'm so flattered you like mine! I also have another completed Klaroline Human story called Best of Me. It's over on my LJ (username Hybridlovelies) if you wanna check it out. People tell me they like it ;)**

**follow me on tumblr at Hybridlovelies**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello babes! Sorry about the update hiatus. I know it's annoying, but patience is much appreciated.**

**Just a sidenote: A few of you have expressed concern for Caroline giving into Klaus too quickly or her not wrapping things up with Tyler enough. Well my response to that is A) it depends on what you consider "giving in" to be and B) The way I've written this story, Caroline was already pretty done with her relationship with Tyler from the start. She just didn't realize that while she still cares about him, she's fallen out of love with him and they should probably break up. **

**As always though, thanks for the feedback. Some of the reviews I've gotten have actually helped me change up the flow of this story already, so THANKS! GOOD JOB!**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo**

* * *

Klaus stood in the center of his crowded living room, surrounded by friends and acquaintances of Rebekah's. Some people he knew, some he didn't. This was one of the tamer events he had been to of late. No sloppy drinking or wild guests. It was a relief, it meant that it would be an uneventful evening.

A waiter passed by with glasses of champagne on a silver tray, but Klaus waved him away, a glass of seltzer already in his hand. Elijah stood across the room, talking politics with a few family friends. They were congratulating him on the success he found in America and renewing sympathies for the passing of their father. Klaus scoffed at the false praises that they bestowed upon Mikael's memory. In life, he had been nothing but a black hearted opportunist, looking for a money-making advantage wherever he could find it. After his death people praised his good instincts when really it was his lack of inhibitions. They had no idea who they were talking about. Mikael Mikaelson the doctor turned businessman when he learned how to make a living off of his own children. It was pathetic how they couldn't see the truth of it.

"Stop look so sour," Rebekah chided, stepping over to him. She grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and shoved it into his free hand. "This is a party."

Klaus gave her an indulgent smile as she slipped her arm around his, leading him into the crowd and forcing him to socialize. She introduced him to a few of her theatre friends who were in attendance; two girls, both petite brunettes, and a boy with long hair tied back into a ponytail. Klaus fought the urge to make fun of the boy, as it was increasing clear in the way his sister simpered and giggled over the lad that she had a crush on him. He made a mental note to corner the boy, who was called Alex, later and put the fear of God into him. Rebekah did after all, have terrible taste in men.

Rebekah had launched into a conversation with Alex, leaving Klaus to listen to the two girls in front of him go on about people and situations he knew nothing about. They asked him a few questions, which he muttered one or two word answers to, but his eyes kept searching the room for Caroline.

He had kept a close watch on the front area, watching the guests mill in and out, trying to catch her as she entered, before Rebekah had pulled him away from his spot. He hadn't been able to find her alone since the evening before last, and he knew that there was a good chance that it was on purpose. Caroline was clever. She stuck close to Elena, relying on the fact that he wouldn't mention anything in front of his fake girlfriend. Well he wouldn't, he thought as he took a small sip of champagne, at least not for now.

* * *

Caroline and Elena walked down the stairs, the sound of conversation floating up as the descended. They reached the bottom and looked around, seeing the waiters with their trays of champagne and hor'dourves, the people mingling with one another dressed in their cocktail hour finest. It wasn't what Caroline expected, it seemed more grown up than the parties she had been attending lately, much more like the town council events in Mystic Falls, but it was nice. Rebekah had done a great, if not over the top job.

"Wow," Elena said taking it all in.

"Yeah," Caroline agreed, smoothing down her blue satin dress.

The girls looked at one another and then, each with a nod, stepped into the party. Elena moved toward Elijah, joining the group he was with, and Caroline followed. Her eyes scanned over the party guests, wondering who all of them were, and why they had come there at the drop of a hat. Some of them were around her age—maybe in their later 20s—but there were others that seemed to be the age of her parents. She thought about some of the fundraisers and parties she had planned for the mayor back in Mystic Falls. She would send out invitations weeks in advance and some people still couldn't find time in the schedules to attend. Maybe Rebekah was just that scary that people didn't want to risk saying no.

"Drink love?"

She turned and Klaus was standing there behind her, a glass of champagne in each hand. He held one out to her and, after a moment, accepted with a smile. It was the first time she had come face to face with him since the other day.

"Thanks," she said.

At first her instinct was to scoff, or hit him with a sarcastic remark, but she realized that there was no need in keeping up the act. She had admitted out loud to _him_ that she was…attracted to him. There was no taking it back now; any number of mean things she might say to him would have no effect on making him forget her confession.

He continued to smile at her, clinking their glasses together and raising his to his lips. It was annoying, the way his cocky smile made her go weak in the knees. And of course looked as dashing as ever, in a casual vest and jacket over a white t-shirt, his distressed jeans setting him apart from the other men in the room who were sporting dress slacks. It didn't matter what he wore, he still carried himself with confidence and grace that told Caroline that in spite of his rough neck rocker edge, he had grown up in this high society of London.

"So this is quite the party," she said to him over the din of conversation.

"Yes," he replied, "my sister never does anything half speed."

Caroline nodded in agreement. "Who are all these people?"

"Her friends, mostly," Klaus replied, sounding bored but unsurprised, "a few friends of our parents. No one I particularly care or wish to see." He nodded as a man dressed in a navy silk shirt passed by with a polite hello.

"Niklaus," Elijah interrupted, "there you are. Look who has finally arrived."

Elijah nodded toward Elena, reminding Klaus that even though this was his home, his party, he still had to pretend. Caroline gave him a sympathetic look, knowing how much he loathed being on fake boyfriend duty as he left her side and took his place next to Elena, introducing her to the group as his girlfriend. A small feeling of jealousy tickled the back of Caroline's mind as she watched the two of them, seeing Klaus's hand on Elena's back, or the way Elena would look up at him with adoring eyes. It was stupid to be jealous, it was an act after all, no one knew better than her. But seeing them together, she couldn't help being reminded of things that had happened in high school and watching Elena with other guys she had crushed on.

* * *

Caroline disappeared now that Klaus had been pulled to Elena's side. His jaw remained tight as he stood there and conversed with old friends; listening to his girlfriend tell the story of how they met. The high pitch of her voice told Klaus that she wasn't enjoying the act any more than he was. At least they had that in common, he mused, if nothing else. It was annoying enough to be forced in public to acknowledge her but in his own home it was downright irritating. Elijah had even decided that they shouldn't reveal their little scheme to Rebekah. Although, Klaus couldn't exactly disagree with that. Rebekah did have a flair for the dramatics. There was no predicting just how his sister would react.

He endured another hour of mindless chatter in the company of Elena and Elijah before he could excuse himself for a break. Once again, he tried to find Caroline. Rebekah had been effectively ignoring her, refusing to introduce her to anyone or engage her in conversation, so she was left on her own. He had seen her once, talking to Alex in the corner, which hadn't helped endear her to his sister; Rebekah had tugged him away as soon as she had spied them together.

He passed through the foyer, where a few of the guests lingered, and headed toward the library. If anything he could have a break; it would be quiet in there away from the guests and staff. The doors shut behind him, the rolling sound giving him a sense of relief, a feeling that he could breathe for the first time all evening. His fingers found the dimmer switch on the wall and he turned it up enough to give him light to see, but not so much that he would be found out should someone pass by the door.

"Hiding out?" A female voice asked him. He looked up to see Caroline sitting in one of the great chairs in front of the fireplace, her black heels kicked off and laying next to the chair on the floor. Her smile was a welcome sight.

"Seems to be a popular place to do so," he replied, crossing toward the armoire on the other side of the room. He opened it up to reveal a small bar, a few bottles of brown alcohol, and some glasses. "Care for something?"

"No, thank you," Caroline said. She long since replaced her flute of champagne with a glass of sparkling water, "I haven't been making the best decisions while drunk lately."

Klaus frowned, pouring himself a glass of scotch and adding some water. He turned back toward her to see that she had stood up from her chair and stepped closer toward him.

"I didn't really know anyone so…" she trailed off, twisting her fingers together.

"I knew almost everyone and I hated it," Klaus said taking a sip of his drink.

"It seems like this party is more for Rebekah's benefit than yours or Elijah's."

"That's usually how it goes," Klaus said coming to stand in front of her. Caroline let out a short laugh, not at all surprised. "My father would have social gatherings like this every so often and Rebekah and I used to sneak off as soon as we could. My mother hated them too," he told her, "we all became quite skilled in the art of faking smiles and laughing at jokes that aren't really funny."

Caroline took the drink from his hands and lifted it to her lips. She took a large gulp and swallowed, making a face at the intense taste of the alcohol. Klaus chuckled. "I thought you weren't drinking."

Caroline shrugged, setting it aside. "I've never had scotch before. Sometimes it's nice to try new things."

She looked up at him, their eyes meeting. The air around them prickled. A second passed, maybe it was a week, neither of them seemed to know, but in the next instant, they were both reaching for one another, their lips crashing together in a hot kiss. Caroline saw stars as Klaus's teeth hit hers. He pushed her back, her spine hitting one of the shelves and rattling the dusty books. Their hands were everywhere at once, rumpling clothes, trying to find skin, their mouths moving back and forth over each others' with frantic enthusiasm. Klaus's palm cupped one of her breasts through the fabric of her dress, his hand kneading her soft flesh. Caroline sucked in a breath as his lips left hers and moved to her jaw, her fingers digging into his back, pressing him closer against her body. She felt the electricity coursing through her as he continued to run his hands all over her body.

When his fingers brushed the top of her thighs, tugging the hem of her dress north, her eyes snapped open and she pushed him away. Klaus relented, her hands braced against his shoulders, both of them breathless from kissing.

"Wait," she said, "someone might come in."

"I don't care," Klaus said attacking her lips again. Caroline let out a noise halfway between a moan and groan. She pushed against his shoulders again, disconnecting her lips from his.

"Wait," she repeated, "seriously."

Klaus pressed his forehead to hers, "Caroline," he groaned, his voice thick with male frustration. She bit her lip, hating herself a little bit for stopping him, but knowing she had to. The party guests didn't actually matter to her, with the way she was feeling the moment before, with his mouth and hands on her, the whole party and all of Mystic Falls could walk in on them and she would tell him to keep going.

"Look you were right," she said, "this isn't what I want."

Klaus's face fell as he leaned further away. "What do you mean?"

"The cheap sex on random pieces of furniture," she said, "I do want more."

Klaus let out a low chuckle. "Oh," he said, remembering his words to her when they had been at the piano. He was going to have to sew his own mouth shut.

Caroline ran her hands over his chest and arms, earning her a flick of his eyesbrows. If she didn't want to have sex with him right then, she wasn't doing a very good job of exuding that.

"I just didn't have a very romantic first time," she told him, "it was, you know, a typical teenage, backseat kinda thing. So now I just try not to jump into all that too quickly. God Tyler and I didn't even—" she paused and looked up at him, seeing a sour expression at the mention of her and Tyler—"sorry I'm babbling, you don't want to hear any of that."

"No please continue," Klaus blanched, "there's nothing a man loves more than hearing about a girl's past lovers."

Caroline rolled her eyes, but let out a small laugh, leaning forward to nip him on the lips. "Well you rejected me, so I owed you one. Now we're even."

Klaus narrowed his stare, his eyes gleaming and his voice dripping with sex. "I think we're far from even sweetheart."

His words, his voice made her shiver. He left her then, walking over to the sliding wooden doors of the library and turning the key in the lock. It clicked shut and he reached over, dimming the lights even further, sauntering back over to where Caroline stood. He enjoyed her delightful mussed from what they had already been up to, but Klaus wasn't finished with her yet. Maybe she wanted to wait for the perfect moment to have sex, Klaus could respect that-Caroline was a planner, spontaneity didn't seem to be in her nature-but that didn't mean they couldn't have other sorts of fun.

"Klaus I—" but he stopped her, placing a finger over her lips. He kissed her once, pressing her back into the bookshelf, before lowering himself in front of her. His hands went to her leg, caressing the smooth skin of her calf before behind it and hitching it over his shoulder. He pushed her dress up farther, placing a gentle kiss on the inside of her thigh. His eyes flicked up to her face and he smirked at her expression. Her mouth hung open wantonly, her breathing stopped, her eyes gleaming with anticipation; all signs that told him he could keep going.

He reached for her, pushing aside the lacey fabric of her underwear and sinking a finger in between her folds. She was slick and tight, a hot gasp coming her as he brushed against her walls. Klaus smirked, sucking on her thigh as he pumped in and out of her. His cock twitched painfully in his pants, wishing to do the work his fingers had undertaken, but he willed himself to be patient. All in good time. They had come this far after all. Klaus would let Caroline have a little taste of what was yet to come.

Caroline's hips bucked forward as the stubble of Klaus's jaw scrapped at her thighs. She had said she wanted to wait, but this was the loophole everyone dove through when they were holding out on the real deal. Her body needed some sort of release from the tension that had been building. His thumb circled her swollen nub, coaxing forth a muffled cry from her throat. Caroline recalled the way his fingers looked while playing guitar at the concert, now he was playing her with the same expert precision.

Just as she was reaching that high point, Klaus removed his fingers, wrapping his hands firmly around her waist. He leaned forward, replacing his hands with his tongue. Caroline fell forward at the sensation of his tongue on her sex, bracing her hands against his shoulders. But Klaus supported her weight, as he licked and sucked on her, enjoying her sweet taste.

"K-Klaus," Caroline stammered as he continued his passes, her hands digging into the fabric of his jacket. He smirked against her heat, nipping down on her again, enjoying the breathy moan that came from her every time he used his teeth.

He was enjoying the little sounds she made; the whimpers and the breaths and the sighs. It was honest and innocent, in a way. Not like the girls who frequented his bed that would moan and screamed so loudly one would think they were auditioning for an opera. But with Caroline, nothing was contrived; every reaction was authentic and was the result of his touches.

Caroline had made a brief mention of her former sex life, something that was skimming at the edges of his mind as he pleasured her. He didn't know if any of the other men she had dated ever made her react this way, and it didn't matter. Klaus would make sure it didn't matter. That possessive need flared up in him again. He had always prided himself on making even the most closed off of girls open up to him and give in to their more explicit needs. It was part of the conquest. But with Caroline, he just wanted to see the sides of her that no one else would see. To see her let go of herself in the throes of passion, an instance when he found that people could be quite honest with themselves. She always seemed to act the way she _thought_ she should act or do the things she _thought_ she should do. Just like her friend, she was driving herself insane with always worrying over doing the right thing. As Klaus licked and teased her into submission, he wanted to show her that a little bit of wrong, could be very, very right.

Her body began to quake as her orgasm erupted through her. She cried out, Klaus continuing to stroke her through the shocks of pleasure. Her fingers wove through his hair as the rumbles subsided, her legs feeling like jelly. He slowly moved her leg off his shoulder and stood, helping her adjust her dress back into a more modest position. His soft lips brushed her cheekbones as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Wow," Caroline said, "best none sex ever."

Klaus chuckled. "Thank you love," he replied brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "Back to the party?"

She cocked her head. "Don't you want to…"

Klaus kissed her quickly, cutting her off. "Another time." The truth was, he wanted to _dot dot dot_. He definitely wanted to. He was only human after all and this small taste he had of her was nothing less than extraordinary. But he didn't want it to diminish what he had just given her. That had been about her, not about him. Gaining her trust. Showing her that the wait would be worth it and would hopefully be very, very short.

* * *

The next morning Klaus woke up early and took Rebekah to breakfast. She was quite cross with him for disappearing from the party.

"I try to do something nice for both you and Elijah and you both ditch as soon as you get the chance," she pouted over grapefruit and toast. "You can swan about with your girlfriends any time. I'm your sister! You never see me!"

"I'm here now aren't I?" Klaus countered taking a bite of toast. "Besides I have no idea what you are talking about."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes. "Don't play dumb. I noticed that Elena and Caroline were missing as soon as you and Elijah disappeared. Honestly, I don't know what either of you see in those girls. They are so…common."

"Always so humble Rebekah," Klaus muttered. So, Elijah skipped out on the posh party as well last night. _And_ Elena? _Hmmmm_, thought Klaus. He would be storing that fact away for later examination.

After a very long breakfast, where Klaus did his best to be an attentive brother and appease his baby sister for letting her down the night before, he left her with his credit card allowing her to do some shopping in hopes that a few trinkets would further clear his name. Back at home, he found Elijah in the library, seated at their father's old wooden desk, his laptop open and his phone at his ear.

Elijah nodded to Klaus as he strolled in and gestured to a seat. Klaus sat down, his eyes flicking in the direction of the fireplace, and the shelf of books next to it. A few of the stack seemed to have come loose from their precise positions on the shelves. Klaus smirked to himself, remembering the sight of Caroline pressed against them, arching into his mouth.

"I have a gift for you," Elijah said to Klaus as he set his phone down and grabbed a yellow envelope.

"You shouldn't have," Klaus quipped, taking the piece of mail from his brother's hand. It was rather heavy. Elijah had already broken the seal, so Klaus slipped his hand inside and pulled out a thick, bound stack of papers. He read the black text on the front of the sheets, his mouth falling open in surprise. It was the script for his movie.

"The small incident in Prague aside, the studio has been very pleased with your change in attitude," Elijah said with a smile, "not to mention the added press potential from your relationship with Elena."

"They're back on board?" Klaus asked, a little doubtful at the fact that things seemed to turn around so fast.

"Yes," Elijah confirmed, "the contract stands. Shooting will start in a month, once you and Elena are back from the press tour."

He finished talking with Elijah, discussing a few more details about the project then headed to find the one person he wanted to share the good news with. It was fantastic. All the bloody misery of pretending to be Elena's boyfriend was paying off. His luck was finally changing.

Klaus hopped up the stairs, taking two at a time, and rushing over to Caroline's room, hoping that she hadn't left for the day. His knuckles hit the oak door with an eager knock and a couple moments later he heard Caroline's feet walking over to answer. She smiled at him.

"Hey good—" Klaus cut her off with a thorough kiss, his free hand wrapping around her neck and holding her in place. He released her after a moment, and watched her blink and stammer as she tried to remember what she had been saying. "Morning."

"Good morning," he smiled, walking into her room and shutting the door behind him.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" She asked taking a seat on her bed and folding her legs underneath her. Klaus handed her the envelope, sitting next to her. She tossed him an odd look, but opened the envelope and pulled out the movie script, her eyes brightening as she read the text. "The script for your movie?"

Klaus nodded. "Arrived in the post this morning."

"Wow. That is—amazing!" Caroline beamed.

"You already knew didn't you?" Klaus said, picking up the note of false surprise in her tone.

She gritted her teeth and smiled. "Elena got hers this morning too. She told me at breakfast. But I am really happy for you. You deserve this!"

Klaus flashed her a dimpled smile. Having her support and well wishes made the news that much better. It was strange, the way their dynamic had changed over the past couple of days. Now that Caroline was no longer hiding behind a mask of indifference toward him, he found he quite liked the way she was looking at him right now, with admiration and sincere happiness for him. It was a look he was not accustomed to receiving from anyone.

"I'll need to start learning lines soon," Klaus said, clearing his throat and shifting on the bed, "if we're to start filming at the end of the month."

"I can help you," she offered, "if you want."

Klaus took the script from her hand, flipping through the pages, his eyes scanning the text. "Shall we begin now?" He asked. "Ah, here's a good scene to start with." He folded back the page and passed it to Caroline, watching her read the text.

"Klaus!" She smacked him on the arm with the book, "it's a sex scene. There aren't any lines."

"I know," he said, his voice low and seductive. He took the script from her hands and tossed it aside, leaning toward her and pressing her down on the mattress.

She adjusted herself with a giggle, unfolding her legs and laying back, allowing him to settle on top of her and cover her lips with his. His mouth moved over hers, his tongue darting past her teeth. Caroline slid her foot along his leg, arching into him, the movement driving him mad. As her fingers fisted in his blonde curls, Klaus wondered if perhaps the wait was over. Maybe he was even luckier than he imagined and now was the time. A day was all it took for Caroline to loosen her chastity belt and give in. He decided to test the theory.

Carefully, he slid one hand under her blouse, grazing the skin of her stomach and reaching up to palm her breast. He pushed up the fabric of her bra, circling her nipple with his thumb and forefinger and giving it a tight pinch. Her response was a quiet yet encouraging moan, and Klaus took that as a very good sign.

Caroline slid her hand down his chest, feeling the lines of his torso through the fabric of his long sleeve tee. The necklaces that he always wore dangled from his throat, and brushed against her chest. She stopped at the top of his pants, feeling around for the button, and popping it open without breaking their kiss. Pulling down the zipper, she carefully ventured beyond the top of his jeans and moved her palm across his erection. Her reward was a throaty growl and a bite on her lip. She continued to stroke him as Klaus braced himself against the bed, his palms on either side of her head.

His lips parted from hers, brushing against her forehead, and she used the moment to glance down at her own motions; Klaus's hips bucking ever-so-slightly in time with her rhythm.

"Your hand feels quite good love," he said, his husky voice giving her a little thrill. Caroline gazed at him through the tops of her eyelashes, his heat-filled stare sending a wave of desire straight to her core.

She held her lip between her teeth, the site of it doing things to Klaus, making him want to lose control. But he had to hold off, if this was to be the moment, he couldn't let himself finish this way. Gently, he lowered his mouth back to hers and grabbed her wrist, moving it away from his cock. He sat up on his knees, pulling his shirt over his head, and then waited for Caroline to do the same. She laid there for a moment, leaning against her elbows, looking at his half naked form hovering over her. It wasn't exactly a lustful gaze, more like an indecisive observation.

"Klaus—"

"Caroline—"

A knock at the door interrupted them both.

"Damn it," Caroline whispered, "just a sex! I mean SEC—just a second!" She covered her reddening face with her hands, her blonde curls bobbing as she shook her head back and forth. "Hide!" She whisper-yelled at him pointing a frantic finger in the direction of her en suite bathroom.

Klaus shook his head, half laughing, half muttering to himself about how the gods obviously hate him as he trudged to the bathroom with his shirt and shut the door.

Caroline quickly smoothed down her hair and shirt.

"Care?" She heard Elena's muffled voice through the other side of the door.

Caroline whipped it open, the motion causing a tiny breeze to blow back her curls, and she gave Elena a big innocent smile. "Hey what's up?"

"Hey," Elena returned, narrowing her eyes at her friend's weird behavior, "did you still want to come with me to the Burberry shoot?"

"Omigosh, I totally forgot," Caroline exclaimed, "yes I do. I do want to go with you. To the Burberry shoot."

"Okay," Elena said, "are you alright?"

"Fine. One-hundred percent, A O-K," she said with a little wink. _God Caroline could you be a little more spastic_? She thought. "I was just curling my hair."

"Your hair's already curled."

"Straitening! I meant straightening. I'll meet you down stairs in five minutes."

Elena gave her a wary nod and turned away. Caroline shut the door behind her, letting out a slow breath, feeling like a total weirdo. She turned back around to see Klaus, still shirtless, leaning up against the doorframe of the bathroom with an amused grin on his face.

"What are you doing? How long have you been standing there? She could have seen you."

She brushed past him with a huff, going for her pink hair straightener that was sitting on the sink vanity and plugging it in.

"Ashamed of me?" Klaus asked. She looked up at him through the mirror.

"No, but I don't know exactly what we are doing and whatever it is," Caroline said, "I'd rather keep it quiet for the time being."

Klaus stepped behind her running his hands along her arms. "What we were doing was having fun," he purred into her hair.

Caroline shrugged him off. "Well now I have a photo shoot to get ready to go to."

The hair straightener beeped, signaling to Caroline that it was at full heat, and she reached for it. But Klaus grabbed her hand and spun her around pulling her against him.

"How about you _don't_ go to the photo shoot?"

"But I already told Elena that I would go."

"You always do what Elena wants you to do," Klaus said, "what happened to wanting to seeing the world and experience new things instead of following the starlet around on her cloud of fame. It must get cold living in Elena Gilbert's shadow."

"Oh," Caroline said, "I'm guessing if I stay here I can see the wide world of your bedroom and have the once in a lifetime experience of an orgasm at Klaus Miklaeson's hands…oh wait I've already done that."

Klaus let out an indignant snort, his lips pursing in frustration. "You can be quiet the tease you know."

"And you can be quiet the spoiled man-child who stomps his feet and cries when he doesn't get his way."

Caroline met his hard stare, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I think you should go." The statement came out as more of an order rather than a suggestion.

"Fine," she replied brushing past him, "I was already going."

Caroline grabbed her purse and walked out of her room slamming the door behind her. She didn't let a lack of footwear ruin the impact of her dramatic exit.

Elena was at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for Caroline.

"I thought you were straightening you hair," Elena asked as Caroline hit the bottom step.

"I changed my mind," she said breezing to the front door, "let's just go."

* * *

Going to the photo-shoot ended up being a horrible idea. It was a long and boring experience for Caroline, and all she did was sit in a folding director's chair while she watched Elena change into different outfits and pose for the photographer. The sitting meant she had nothing to do but think about how mad she was at Klaus.

Ok so the more she thought about it, she wasn't _that_ mad at him. She could understand his frustration with her a little bit. It was typical guy behavior. Nothing more. Although he didn't need to call her a tease; that was just mean. At first she had just been angry, and concluded that it was evident by his words and actions that all he cared about was getting into her pants after all; and he would say or do anything to accomplish that goal. But then her anger simmered. Of course he didn't just care about sleeping with her. They were beyond that now. He could have taken advantage of her multiple times yet he never had. Damn him for being such a gentleman!

Either way, she wasn't admitting to being wrong about anything or apologizing. Because she wasn't wrong and there was nothing that she should be apologizing for. He should apologize to her, although, she wasn't sure what for exactly. For kissing her? No. For trying to get her to stay home? No. For making her forget to turn her straightener off before she left the house? Yes! Yes that was it. It was her favorite and it would be damaged if she left it on all day long. Oh, she would make him buy her a new one if it was broken. She would make him…Caroline slumped in her chair.

Okay, she was being a little dumb.

But she still wasn't going to cave in.

When the shoot was over, Alaric drove them back to the Mikaelson home in a black town car they had rented. Caroline sat in the back of the car, next to Elena, her chin in her hand as she stared out at the window, still trying to think of a reason to be mad at Klaus. She let out a heavy sigh as she watched the buildings and people on the street pass by.

"Hey," she said, "do you think we could drive through Trafalgar square?"

Caroline had no idea where they were currently in relation to it, but she did want to see something of London before they left for Paris the next day. London had been her all time favorite city growing up when she was little. She always thought it was where all the princesses went to live and she had wanted to live there too. She remembered the first time her dad had showed her photographs of modern day London, one of them had been of Trafalgar Square, and it had completely altered her perception of castles and knights and magic of a foreign land.

"I need to get home," Elena says, "I have a business dinner to get ready for?"

"Business dinner?" Caroline questioned.

"Yeah…just a thing. But I want to change before I have to leave," Elena replied nonchalantly.

"We can drive through," Alaric offered from the front seat, "it would only take maybe an extra twenty minutes."

Caroline smiled, but Elena still shook her head. "I'd really rather not chance it. There might be traffic."

"Fine," Caroline muttered, crossing her arms, "sorry to have asked, your highness."

Elena's head snapped in her direction. "What?"

"This entire trip has been about what you want to do. Where you want to go. I ask for one little thing and you just brush it off like it doesn't matter."

"Trafalgar Square isn't even that great to see," Elena protested, "if we had time I would let you stop."

Caroline blinked, incredulous at what a self-important bitch Elena was being at that moment. "Let me? You would _let me_? You don't own me. I can do and see whatever I want to do or see. God, it's like ever since high school it's always about you."

Alaric slinked down in the front seat and concentrated on his driving, hoping not to be caught in the crossfire.

"I'm sorry Caroline, but no one made you come on this trip. I thought I was being nice and letting you experience something new."

"Oh so now I'm your charity case?"

"That's not what I meant—"

"No I get it," Caroline cut her off, "Elena Gilbert, queen of the world, lowers herself to spend time and extend her goodness to us less fortunate, sad people. I'm super grateful that you've bestowed your generosity on me."

Elena opened her mouth to retort, but shut it again, unable to think of anything to say to that. Caroline faced away from her, glaring out the window, her face scrunched up in anger. The tension in the car began to suffocate its occupants as the girls sighed heavily, not saying anything else to one another. Alaric kept his head ducked down, trying to avoid accidental eye contact with either of them through the rear-view mirror. Even without running into traffic, he couldn't get back to the mansion fast enough.

* * *

**So Caroline is starting to crack a little bit. I mean, who wouldn't right?**

**Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Also one little other favor I have to ask of you: I've been nominated for Best Time Travel Fic (Timeless), Best AU/AH Fic (Best of Me) and Best Overall Author over at the Klaroline awards tumblr. So if you haven't, I'd be much obliged if you'd pop over to their tumblr klarolineawards and vote for me!**

**Thanks muchly!**

**follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


	9. Chapter 9

**Apologies to anyone who got the story update and then it disappeared. I jumped the gun a little and forgot to format and add notes. Oops!**

**Anyways, sorry for the long wait. Hope you enjoy this chapter though. There's a lot of Klaus's backstory and a bit of Caroline's. Anytime I write AUs I come up with long insane backstories in my head, and I tried to give you all the cliffnotes version that makes sense for the story.**

**And for those of you asking why I chose to not include Kol and Finn as siblings in this story, it's because I wanted to keep Klaus's family smaller.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

As soon as Alaric stopped the car, Caroline darted out, rushing into the house in effort to be as far away from Elena as possible. Meanwhile, Elena headed upstairs to change for her "business dinner." Whatever. Caroline flopped down on her bed and rolled her eyes. Elena could be so self important sometimes.

Caroline stayed in her guest room until she was sure Elena had left. She changed out of her clothes and into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Even though her t-shirt was a crisp white and her jeans freshly washed, she felt a bit on the frumpy side as she ventured downstairs; her outfit felt too casual, in spite of it being a quiet evening at home. Rebekah never wore anything less than heels and perfect pressed blouses as she strutted around the stuffy halls of the mansion. She found it difficult to imagine the Mikaelsons ever having a lazy day in sweatpants.

Caroline walked around downstairs in search of a television. She hadn't recalled seeing one when Elijah had given them the grand tour, but of course they had to have one somewhere; what kind of people didn't own a TV? She figured there would be a giant screen somewhere, with state of the art DVD players and sound systems that didn't see much use.

In the back of her mind, she realized that she could just take herself out to see London like she had wanted to, but didn't much feel up to it now that she was in a bad mood. First her fight with Klaus, then Elena, all she wanted to do was curl up in front of the tube and indulge in some bad reality TV. Maybe she could find some junk food, but again that seemed like an unlikely possibility. Perhaps watching the Kardashians yell at one another for a few hours were make her feel less crappy.

As she neared one of the sitting rooms she heard voices. It sounded like Rebekah and Klaus. At first she thought she might want to avoid them, but then she paused to listen to whatever was happening; it sounded dramatic. It was wrong to eavesdrop, but maybe it would be better than anything she could find on TV.

Klaus was seated in a brown leather chair, a sketchbook propped up on his knee, his eyes focused on what his pencil was doing. In front of him was Rebekah, with what appeared to be a script in her hand; she was reading from it, gesticulating with broad arm movements. The girl stopped when she noticed Caroline enter the room, giving her the usual icy frown. Klaus looked up as well, to see who had caused his sister to fall silent. The two Mikaelson siblings stared at her as she lingered in the doorway to the room, her hand gripping the frame.

"I'm sorry," Caroline said, "I was just looking for a TV."

"We don't have a TV," Rebekah answered as if it was the most absurd idea she had ever heard in her entire posh life.

"Oh," Caroline bit her lip, "okay." She continued to hover in the doorway, while Rebekah continued to stare at her.

"We're actually a little busy right now," she said, "so if you wouldn't mind taking your blue doe eyes somewhere else—"

"Actually I do mind," Caroline snapped. She was in a mood now and didn't feel at all like taking any more of Rebekah's curt attitude. Especially when Caroline had never been anything but nice to her. "You know I'm a guest in this house and I don't know how things are done in London, but in Mystic Falls we're actually nice to people who visit us."

Rebekah smirked. "Yes, and I bet you give your guests the nice bales of hay to sleep on when they come to stay in your barn or whatever it is you live in."

"Seriously?" Caroline scoffed. "I may be American and from a small town, but at least I'm not some self important English bitch with a stick up my ass."

Rebekah gaped at her, her mouth hanging open in surprise. She turned to Klaus. "Are you going to let her talk to me like that?"

Klaus held up a defensive hand. "I have no part in this."

It wasn't the defense Rebekah had been looking for. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Fine," Rebekah growled, "I'll leave. I don't care to stand here and be insulted in my own home."

The blonde spun in the opposite direction of Caroline and stomped out of the room, the angry clacking of her heels growing fainter as she distanced herself from them. Caroline's gaze shifted to Klaus, who was staring at her from his seat. Her shoulders sagged.

"Ok so that's three people I've snapped at today," Caroline muttered, "I guess I'm on a roll."

"Don't worry about Rebekah. She knows she's a brat. She just doesn't like to be called out as one."

Caroline let out an amused snort, the corner of her mouth twitching.

"I'm guessing I was your first victim," Klaus continued, "if my sister was your third then the second would have been…"

"Elena," Caroline finished for him. "We got into a fight in the car on the way back from the photoshoot." Klaus closed his sketchbook and focused on Caroline; she paused for a moment before telling him about their fight in the limo. "You were right, it's always about her."

Klaus heard the bitterness in her voice and could tell the anger was still fresh. Of course he had no love for Elena, but he knew Caroline would get over the fight. They would be back to being joined at the hip by the next morning.

"It's just a spat," he replied, "you'll be over it in the morning."

"Yeah," Caroline muttered, dropping down onto the couch across from him. She let herself sink into the leather, her eyes staring up at the ceiling. "You were right though. It's always her way. It's always about her. Most popular in high school, everyone's best friend, and then she moves out of Mystic Falls and becomes a freakin' world famous actress?" Caroline sat up and folded her legs underneath her, facing Klaus. "You know I had this huge, massive crush on Stefan before she started dating him?"

"Stefan?"

"Stefan Salvatore. Elena's high school boyfriend. Who she was with until about a year ago when they broke up with him because she cheated on him with his brother—which she just shared that little story with me a few days ago." Caroline's blue eyes flashed with remembered anger as she spoke. Klaus tried to stifle his smirk; it was refreshing to know that the moral Ms. Gilbert wasn't without her indiscretions. "Seriously, I was so in love with him and he picked her. She didn't even have to try. I tried so hard and he picked her. It was hell watching them be together, but of course I had to be the nice, understanding friend. I couldn't come between the Mystic Falls golden couple."

Klaus leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, looking up at Caroline's crestfallen face through the top of his eyes. Some wounds, he knew, never healed. No matter how insignificant they might seem in the present.

"Caroline, you're worth ten times more than any Elena Gilbert. Women like her have to work like hell to be what you already are," he said to her.

"And what am I?"

"You're beautiful, you're strong, you're full of light. You really have no idea the effect you have."

Caroline cheeks warmed at his compliment. The intensity of his eyes and the cadence of his voice were things she recognized from the rare moments when he was letting his badass, immune-to-feelings rock persona drop away to reveal the more honest side of himself.

"And a tease?" She shot back, trying to dissolve the seriousness of the conversation.

Klaus smirked. "We all say things we don't mean when we're angry."

"That's interesting," Caroline replied, "because my dad used to say there's more honesty in anger than anywhere else."

"Well it's your choice as to what doctrine to believe," he said.

Caroline smiled and shook her head. All she wanted was an apology, but he was too damn stubborn and prideful to give her one. So she decided to drop it. She knew that once again, he was right. Their fight had been silly anyway.

"I'm still bummed we leave for Paris tomorrow," Caroline sighed, "I'm excited, but I wish I could have seen more of London."

Klaus stood, smiling. "I have an idea."

"I don't know if I trust that look," Caroline replied with feigned suspicion.

"I want to show you a very special museum. Very limited access. Only a few people in all of London have seen it."

Caroline scrunched up her nose. "I don't really feel like going anywhere, this whole thing with Elena…"

"I promise, we don't even have to leave the house," Klaus said extending his hand to her, "come on."

She looked at his open palm and took it, letting him pull her off the couch. Klaus led her out of the living room and down the hall, through the kitchen, and to the far back of the house. He stopped in front of a closed door. Klaus turned back and smirked at her, amused by whatever surprise he had in store. He twisted the knob and opened it to reveal stairs leading down to the cellar.

"After you love," he said flipping the light switch just inside the door. She quirked an eyebrow and took a step down into the cellar. It was still dark at the bottom, the light from above not reaching the rest of the room; she stopped at the bottom of the stairs and waited for Klaus.

He stepped passed her and reached for another light, lifting the dimmer switches up and illuminating the rest of the vast room. Caroline walked forward, marveling at what she saw around her. It was a mini-museum, just like Klaus had said. There were sculptures made of metal and stone, paintings hung on the walls, each of them lit individually with small rows of track lights. Caroline examined the creations, taking in the works that lay before her. Landscapes and portraits and abstracts. She noticed the signatures at the edge of some of the paintings.

"Esther James," she read out loud.

Klaus touched the writing with the tip of his finger. "My father always hated that my mother used her maiden name in her work."

"These are your mother's?"

"Most of them," Klaus replied, "except those two. Those are mine."

Klaus pointed to two large landscape paintings on the opposite wall. She crossed over to get a closer look at them. They were massive, spanning longer than her arms length. Each one reminded her of Monet, an artist she actually knew something about thanks to her travel reading. The brush strokes were similar; fluid, quick, and passionate, trying to capture a moment before it disappeared forever. But instead of bright, true colors, Klaus tended towards the darker end of the spectrum, a reflection of his own view of the world she thought.

"Klaus these are amazing," Caroline said, her eyes wide with appreciation, "I don't understand why you don't still paint."

"Come on," Klaus said taking her hand again, she couldn't help but notice the way he evaded her question. He led her to the other half of the cellar museum, on the other side of the stairs. There was a small studio set up on that side. Drop clothes spread around different easels holding what seemed to be works in progress. Canvases left on the side up against the wall. A table was center, holding paint brushes, bottles of foggy liquid, tubes of paint, palettes mixed with dried colors. To the right was a large couch, paint stained, but comfy looking.

"So you do still work?"

Klaus shook his head. "These are left from my mother. She would work down here all night sometimes," he said motioning to the sofa, "she'd sleep here a lot."

Caroline noticed a few sketches of a woman on cream-colored paper. "Did you do these?"

"They're Da Vinci originally," Klaus said, "I had a small phase when I was fifteen, I attempted to copy his work."

"You did these when you were fifteen? I'm impressed."

"I wanted to make a portrait of my mother based on his studies, but I never got the chance. Before she died."

Caroline's heart tightened, hearing the sadness in his voice. He only talked about his mother briefly before, in small increments, and seemed to eschew any further mention of her. Caroline realized that Klaus didn't share these things with many people. She didn't imagine that many girls he dated or the limited number of friends he had knew about this place. Maybe Klaus just needed someone to trust, someone to talk to.

"What was she like? And your father, you barely mention him."

Klaus chuckled. "It's a long story."

Caroline looked at the couch, plopping herself down and stretching out her legs. She smiled. "I've got time."

Klaus hesitated for only a moment, grinning at the warmth she radiated in the cold cellar full of painful reminders. He walked over and lifted her legs up, sitting down on the couch, letting her legs fall over his lap. Her expression was attentive; waiting for him to tell whatever story he was about to tell.

"Esther and Mikael—my parents—were very young when they met and, got married very quickly," he began. Speaking of his father's fascination with his mother—her free spirited ways compared to his staunch high-class up bringing—as if they weren't his parents, but two characters in a movie he had seen. "About a year or so after they married, my grandparents passed away, leaving my mother her inheritance. She was urged to keep it away from Mikael, but instead she used it to finance his medical school bills while she continued to paint. A year after that Elijah was born, Mikael started his residency, they moved into this home and were happy. Esther's paintings gained popularity and she began to travel more often and the once happy marriage became more and more strained. Mikael told her that it was time she stay home and be his wife, but she refused to give up her artist's life. The more they fought, the more my mother would stay away. A few years later I was born. With two sons, Mikael finally had the leverage he needed to keep my mother at home. She stopped travelling. And then when I was four, Rebekah was born."

"Mikael continued to work and Esther spent her days with Elijah, Rebekah and I, teaching us. She attempted to pass on her creative spirit to her children. I was the only one that really took to it. Elijah was very sensible and serious, he was like our father. Rebekah and I tended to be the more creative ones," Klaus smirked at a memory from long ago, "she had an early affinity for preforming. My mother let her go on her first audition when she was just ten."

Caroline smiled. She could imagine a tiny Rebekah, reciting lines for her family, as she had been doing for Klaus upstairs. The picture he painted of their lives sounded like a happy one. His mother would foster their talents and abilities, answering to their every notion and dream, letting Rebekah go on auditions, encouraging Klaus to practice his art, and indulging Elijah while he read his books. Klaus even mentioned his mother's attempts at forcing them to broaden their horizons, like when she had tried to teach him piano.

"Elijah was the most resilient of course," Klaus said, "she finally realized that there would only be so much creativity he could muster. But she still loved him."

Klaus told Caroline of the trips that his mother would take him on, the reason why he knew so much about art and history. When they were a bit older, Esther began travelling again, taking Klaus with her most of the time.

"We would stay with her artist friends, I would learn things from them, it was an exciting life," Klaus said, "although perhaps an odd one to grow up in. But I liked being away. I hated being in this house with our father. On the few occasions he deigned to show me any attention at all, I was simply used as a target to release whatever frustrations he harbored during our time away."

"And then, when I was sixteen, Esther found out she had cancer. Within a year, she was dead. And everything change," Klaus's eyes changed to gray as he spoke, his expression growing somber. "Mikael took a leave from the hospital he worked at, but then never went back as soon as he realized he didn't need to work, not when he could use his children to make money. Elijah was already at university, but Rebekah and I were left behind. He sent her to New York, to model and I was forced into more music lessons. Mikael had his plans. We weren't his children, we were in investments. One night I overheard him telling a family friend that he had always tried to push Esther into trying to create something of our talents, but she had always refused. It was a source of much consternation between them."

"She didn't want to use you," Caroline interjected.

Klaus shook his head. "For some reason, it didn't take long for me to be noticed by agents. I started playing with bands, making money, gaining popularity here and I saw a way out. I would be turning 18 soon and I knew Mikael's hold was only going to last so long so I did what he wanted. I worked as a musician, worked to become famous and make money, but I did it my way."

Caroline nodded. "So the rebelousness, the whole Nikluas Mikaelson bad boy persona…"

"Was my way of defying him. Mikael was obsessed with reputations. How would it reflect on him to have a fucked up, philandering son," Klaus explained, "and I quickly discovered the infamy garnered a lot more attention and success than anything else I tried."

"The day after I turned eighteen, I got a call from a hospital in New York. Rebekah had OD'd. I flew there the next day to take care of her, bring her home, and blamed Mikael for what happened to my sister."

"What happened?"

Klaus's expression turned even darker. "Parties and clubs in Manhattan, she was young, and my sister has never had the best judgment when it comes to men."

Caroline nodded understanding the implications, even if he were unable to say the words. She remembered Kol, Klaus's violent reactions in the bar, that made so much more sense now.

"After that I knew I would do whatever it took to keep my family away from Mikael. Elijah too. The three of us worked together to create a life completely independent from our father. We took the money I had earned from my music and moved to America. Elijah started the PR firm, I continued to develop my career, Rebekah finished high school. We were happy again, far away from our father."

"But you weren't really happy," Caroline interjected, "you said you hated music. That there were other things you'd rather be doing."

Klaus waved her off. "My family was more important. Supporting them, keeping them away from Mikael was the important part. I couldn't risk switching career paths and loosing it all. Elijah's business was tied to me, it all fell on me."

"So where is Mikael then? He died?"

Klaus nodded. "And on his deathbed he imparted me with a wonderful bit of knowledge," he smiled bitterly, "that I was not his true son." Caroline's mouth dropped open slightly in surprise. "I was a product of one of my mother's affairs. Of which she had many during her travels across Europe. At first I didn't believe him. But then he died and curiosity got the best of me and I discovered that it was true. I was not his son."

"After hearing all of the stories of my _whore_ mother from Mikael's lips I had my suspicions about Rebekah as well. But both Rebekah and Elijah were Mikael's children. I was the only bastard son."

"Do they know?" Caroline asked.

"Elijah knows," Klaus said, "Rebekah doesn't."

Caroline thought back to the Klaus research she had done at the beginning of their trip. She realized that around the same time Mikael died, was around the same time Klaus had started to go a little off the deep end. The drinking, the drugs—it had to be a side effect of the secrets that had been revealed. She couldn't imagine, finding out things about her own parents that didn't line up with the image she had of them. She wondered about her father, who had come out of the closet when she was eight and her parents divorced. If that secret had never been admitted, she wondered how it might have changed their family. Possibly destroyed it.

"Sometimes I think that Mikael won," Klaus said, "he hated me. For being a constant reminder of his wife's sins. His own shortcomings. He wanted me to be miserable. And I am."

Caroline's heart broke at his expression. "Are you really? Miserable?" Klaus looked at her. "Klaus you have so much. You're family obviously loves you and you are changing. The acting will work out and if it turns out you hate that then you'll do something else. And you know what screw Mikael."

Klaus chuckled. "Screw Mikael?"

"Yeah, he sucked and he's dead so he doesn't matter," Caroline said.

"That's harsh."

"Whatever. He can just...fuck off for making you feel like you are nothing but a mistake."

"My Miss Forbes, what a filthy mouth you have."

Caroline nudged his ribs with her knee. "Oh you have no idea."

Klaus moved forward, crawling on top of her, his face hovering over hers. He smirked at the catch in her breath. "I think I'd like to find out." He said lowering his lips to hers.

* * *

They moved the activity up to Klaus's room, rolling onto his bed and getting tangled in his unmade sheets. Klaus liked having her gold and pink against the coal gray of his bed. He kissed her deeply and pulled away, looking down to see her smiling up at him. A yawn escaped her lips causing Klaus to let out a small laugh.

"Boring you love?"

"No," she said her voice thick with exhaustion but she laced her fingers though his curls and pulled his head back down to her. Her lips brushed against his and Klaus couldn't help but think of how intimate it seemed. Maybe it was a result of their storytelling sessions earlier but he felt closer to her, in a way that he hadn't felt to anyone before.

Her hands skimmed around the bottom of his shirt, nails grazing his skin. Klaus felt himself hardening for her—it didn't take much—he wanted her more than he had wanted any woman in his entire life. They had done much more than kiss, but the kissing was good, for some reason that night it seemed like enough, in spite of what the other parts of his body seemed to have in mind.

Klaus pulled her hand up, entwining his fingers with hers above her head, she murmured something unintelligible against his lips as he continued to kiss her and he pulled away to hear what she had to say. Her questioning look was all he needed though. His chest rumbled against hers and he knew they needed to stop now; if they didn't he wouldn't be able to deny her for much longer.

"Sleep now love," Klaus said rolling off of her.

Caroline sat up on her elbows. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," he nodded, "I'm sure."

Caroline shrugged and lifted herself off the bed, but Klaus's hand shot out and grabbed her arm before she got very far. He snatched her back, pulling her against his chest.

"Where do you think you're going?" He quipped, locking his arms around her.

"You said sleep…" she replied.

"I think you'll find my bed is very comfortable."

Caroline felt his hand across her back, rubbing against her tired muscles, and she let herself relax against.

"I guess you're right," she said letting her eyelids close.

* * *

Klaus, by nature, did not get sentimental very often. But as he took his seat on the airplane, he decided that there was no better way to wake up than with Caroline. His eyes had opened before hers that morning and he looked down to see that he was trapped under her delicious body. She had shifted in the night, throwing her leg over both of his and sprawling herself on top of him. Her nose nuzzled into his chest a bit as the sunlight began to peek through the curtains.

Caroline was thinking about that morning too, while still ignoring Elena and pretending to read her Paris guidebook. She was thinking about how embarrassed she was that she had practically squashed Klaus in the middle of the night. She was thinking about how great he smelled and how by some magic he didn't have weird morning breath. She thought about how messy and gross she must have looked in the morning—something she had not considered when she had agreed to go to sleep in his bed—and mostly she thought about how great it felt to wake up in his arms.

Their talk last night had opened up this whole other side of him; a side that Caroline found intriguing but still dangerous at the same time. She would never say it out loud, but he really was every girl's fantasy. The bad boy with a heart of gold. She remembered having a conversation with Matt one night over beers at the Grill, when he had been dumped by another girl for someone he described as a "dickhead in a leather jacket". She had attempted to explain the girl fascination with boys who were completely wrong for them.

"Why do girls always like guys who are assholes?" Matt had asked her. It was a conversation she knew he could never have with Tyler or Jeremy or any of his other male friends. Caroline put a hand on his shoulder. Poor, sweet Matt; such a good guy, but always overlooked. She could sympathize.

"Because we like to pretend that we can be the ones to save them," Caroline said, "it makes us feel special when their tortured souls seek us out for redemption."

"That doesn't make any sense," Matt had replied.

Caroline didn't understand it either, but she just knew that was how the world worked. Now she had gone and fallen for the bad boy. But that wasn't good. The good girl and the bad boy…when did those relationships _ever_ work out?

By the time they touched down in the city of love, Klaus had a plan. He was going to sweep Caroline off her feet. Klaus knew Paris like the back of his hand and decided that Caroline needed to see it the way it was meant to be seen; to experience the thrill and passion. And there would be passion, Klaus would be damned otherwise. After their night together last night, after all the talks and the kisses and the stolen moments of pleasure he decided there was only one way it could be topped and that way included Caroline's naked body writhing underneath his own.

He made his excuses to her and the rest of their travelling companions so he had the day free to plan their evening together. "Don't make any plans," Klaus had instructed her with a coy smile, telling her that he had claim over her schedule for that evening.

"What do you have in mind?" Caroline asked, intrigued.

"A surprise," he replied dropping a kiss to her lips, "but I promise it will be a night you won't soon forget."

With Klaus busy and Elena mysteriously absent, Caroline was left to her own devices. She went for a walk around the city, venturing into a café for a bit, meandering through the fancy Parisian shops, and fantasizing about her evening with Klaus.

She knew that tonight would be the night. After going back and forth with herself on the plane, she finally realized that she was already too far gone to stop now. If Klaus was going to break her heart, then she might as well go all in. And maybe he wouldn't. Maybe this thing, this flirtation they had could be something real.

Klaus hadn't given her even the tiniest of hints as to what they would be doing that night. She wondered what she should wear for the occasion. A new outfit seemed appropriate. As she browsed through one of the stores, she found a cute yet sexy black and white striped dress. It seemed very French, maybe a little cheesy, but when she put it on she knew it was perfect. Sexy, yet subtle. Seductive, but not looking like she was trying too hard.

Along with not giving her any details about their night, he had also neglected to mention what time he would be taking her out. The afternoon dragged on as her anxiety and expectations grew. Around four she decided to go back to the hotel and start getting ready. The last time she had put this much effort into getting dolled up at been her senior prom. She scrubbed and exfoliated in the shower, shaved her legs, did her nails, curled her hair into perfect waves that framed her face, applied makeup, adding a smoky effect to her eyes. It was fortunate that she had decided to give herself so much time to get ready, but she wanted everything to be perfect. By seven, she was dressed and ready to go, sitting in her hotel room waiting to hear from him. At a quarter past her room phone rang. The concierge informed her, in his thick French accent, that there was a town car waiting for her downstairs.

Caroline bit her lip, smiling, and said she would be right down. Checking her hair and makeup one last time in the mirror, she grabbed her clutch purse and headed downstairs. In front of the hotel she saw a black town car, the driver standing beside the door.

"Mademoiselle Forbes?" He asked her. She nodded and he opened the door for her to slide in. Klaus wasn't inside.

"Where are we going?" Caroline asked as the driver pulled away from the hotel.

"Chez L'Homme," he answered, "beautiful restaurant with an excellent view of the Eiffel Tower." Caroline squirmed in her seat with excitement; a fancy, romantic dinner with a few of the Eiffel Tower. Klaus was doing well so far.

The driver dropped her off in front of the restaurant and she walked inside, her eyes searching the diners.

"Je peux vous aider?" The maitre d' greeted her.

Caroline stammered a bit, unsure of what the man said to her. "Um, I'm Caroline Forbes I'm meeting—"

"Ah yes!" The man smiled, "Mademoiselle, right this way." She followed him through the restaurant and up the stairs. "You will be dining in one of our private rooms," he explained as the walked down the hallway. "Our best view of the tower."

Caroline returned his polite smile. He opened the door to the fifth room, letting Caroline inside. She thanked him and walked in.

Her mouth fell open as she looked towards the window, but it wasn't the view of the shining tower glowing against the backdrop of the blue night sky that rendered her speechless, it was the man standing there, blocking it from site.

"Tyler?" She blinked, unable to believe that he was standing there, in front of her, dressed in a tailored suit. It was the suit he always wore to his mother's fundraising functions and other town events that required him to dress up; Caroline knew it well.

"Caroline," he smiled.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize," Tyler said coming toward her, "I'm an idiot. I've been an idiot. And I'm so, so sorry."

"Well you could have told me over the phone," she replied, still reeling from shock. She looked from side to side, feeling like someone was about to pop out from under the table or behind a curtain and tell her she was being pranked. "You didn't have to come all the way to Paris."

It was insane. Romantic, but insane. A manic giggle left her throat. She couldn't believe it. In the entire time they had been together, Tyler hadn't ever made any grand gestures; it just wasn't who he was as much as she had always wished for it. Someone needed to pinch her to prove that she wasn't dreaming.

"Actually I did need to come here," Tyler said taking her hands in his, "there's something I have to say to you that I can't say over the phone."

"What is it Tyler?"

Caroline gasped as he slowly released her hands and sunk down onto one knee.

* * *

Klaus knocked on Caroline's door at half past seven. He felt nervous. For one of the first times in his life, he felt nervous about impressing a woman. But he told himself everything would be fine. It would be more than fine, it would be perfect. He had thought about taking her to dinner, in front of the tower, with romantic candlelight and champagne, but no she deserved more than that. It had to be creative and unique. Something unforgettable. A memory that would surpass anything other she had or had yet to experience. Other men may come into her life, but Klaus was determined to leave his imprint on her.

He'd always assumed that his fling with Caroline would be just that—a fling. Sex and romance and passion throughout their summer trip. Then Caroline would go back to Mystic Falls and Klaus would resume his life in L.A. It was never meant to be anything more. But the thought of other men in her life flared up an unusual amount of jealousy within him. He remembered the feeling when he had watched her and Kol together. Or when she had first mentioned Tyler. He knew that Caroline did not belong to him, the same way he didn't belong to her, or any woman, and never would. But he still felt a niggle of possessiveness when he considered how she would move on after she returned home.

He knocked again, a bit more forcefully, his impatience getting the better of him. When she didn't answer the second time, he put his ear to the door, listening for any movement. Was she in there hiding from him? Getting cold feet again perhaps?

The door across the hall opened and Elena, stood there.

"Oh," she said when she saw him, "what are you doing?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm looking for Caroline."

"Why?" Elena asked.

Klaus fought the urge to roll his eyes. He knew Caroline hadn't mentioned anything to Elena about the two of them, but Klaus hadn't exactly made it a point to keep his interest in the girl a secret. Was the Gilbert girl really _that_ self-absorbed? Even Rebekah had picked up on his true interests before they had left London.

"No reason," he evaded, unable to think of an acceptable excuse. Even if Elena was vapid enough not to notice, Klaus could respect Caroline's wishes to keep their—whatever it was—a secret.

"Well she's out," Elena said, "I don't think she'll be back until later."

Klaus's eyes narrowed. Out? He had told her to leave her evening free. What could she have been doing instead? "And you aren't with her this evening?"

Elena shook her head. "No, she's with her boyfriend, Tyler."

Now there was a surprise. "Tyler?"

"Yeah. He flew over here yesterday. He's going to surprise her and propose," Elena said, "I helped hook him up."

"You think she'll accept?"

"Of course," Elena replied, "they've had their differences, but they love each other. They're just one of those couples you know. Meant to be."

No, he didn't know.

Klaus stood there in the hallway, his fist clenching at his side. Elena threw him an odd look before retreating to her room and shutting the door. He glared at the numbers on the white door and wondered how angry Elijah would be with him if tomorrow's headlines read: _Infamous rockstar brutally murders actress girlfriend._

* * *

**So we'll find out more about Tyler's sudden appearance in the next chapter.**

**Apologies for bad french. :p**

**Also, I hope Klaus's history made sense. It requires a bit of reading between the lines. Basically Mikael's characterization is inspired by the song Antichrist Television Blues by Arcade Fire, which is about Joe Simpson aka Ashlee and Jessica Simpson's father.**

**Anyways, let me know your thoughts! And thank you to everyone who has voted for me in the Klaroline Awards. Today is the last day of voting and you can still vote even if you don't have a tumblr. Just head over to the Klaroline Awards Tumblr.**

**and follow me at Hybridlovelies**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey Everyone! Hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry for the long wait :) I'll have a few authors notes at the end.**

* * *

"I was scared of losing you. I just wanted to end it before you did. But I was an idiot. I realize that now. So I'm here to sweep you off your feet, tell you I love you and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Caroline Forbes."

It had been a good speech, Caroline thought as she sat in the back of the town car on her way back to the hotel. Short and sweet and to the point. When she had burst into tears, Tyler had stood up and hugged her, thinking that they were tears of joy. Which only made it harder in the end, to reject him.

She didn't know how or what to say, she always thought that she would have a few more weeks until she had to go home and face the music with Tyler. It was awful, but she hadn't thought much about him since he had yelled at her over the phone. That had to have said it all. Her no longer wanting to be with him didn't even have anything to do with Klaus. It was just the fact that she was living her life, without Tyler, and never once did she wonder about having him there with her. She realized that as much as she cared about him, she had to let him go.

Tyler wasn't a crier. He was an alpha male, to the core, rarely letting his emotions slip. But she saw the glimmer of tears in his eyes when she told him no. She tried to be gentle, tried to preserve his feelings as much as she could, but in the end there was no way he was not going to feel hurt. He had come all that way and it was all for nothing.

If anyone was to be blamed, it was Elena. Well, not really. Her intentions were good. Tyler told Caroline that Elena had called him up a couple days ago, saying that she felt bad about their recent fighting, and offered to fly him to Paris. Tyler accepted in a heartbeat, of course, making the rest of the plans on his own with a little extra help from Elena. She was just trying to be a good friend. Trying to right her wrongs. Caroline appreciated the gesture, but it was clear they were overdue for some girl talk. It was time that Caroline came clean about everything that had been going on during their trip that Elena wasn't aware of. She would make up with her tomorrow, right now she was emotionally spent for the night.

As she rode up in the elevator, she remembered she had missed her perfect date with Klaus. So much for that surprise. She hoped it wouldn't be too late to salvage the evening, although after her time with Tyler—who was staying at another hotel—she wasn't sure if she was in the romance mood anymore. Maybe they would just have another night like they did before, falling asleep in one another's arms, just talking. The thought of it made her feel better already.

There was so much she needed to tell him. The moment Tyler had dropped to his knee, Caroline knew that she wasn't the same woman who had left Mystic Falls. She was a brand new person. If she was being honest with herself, it was a feeling that had been growing inside of her even before she came on this trip with Elena and since then it had only developed and changed and become something she could no longer ignore. Caroline Forbes knew she was meant for better things. What those things were, she wasn't sure, but now she felt like a free woman. Like Elizabeth Bennett after she rejected stupid Mr. Collins and was free to explore the world and fall for Mr. Darcy.

Not that Klaus was Darcy. Not even close. She wasn't sure what Klaus meant to her at this point, but she wanted to find out. With this surge of empowerment, she would confront him, tell him that she wanted to stop playing around with each others feelings and have something more real.

She bit her lip, smiling to herself, feeling a little guilty that she wasn't all that guilty anymore about rejecting Tyler. The thought of her future, and Klaus, made the decision seem too right to feel remorseful.

The elevator dinged and she stepped off onto her floor, rounding the corner, just in time to see Klaus…yanking a busty redhead into his room. The door shut with a giggle. Caroline's heart dropped to the floor as she stood there, her mouth hanging open, the sight of him pulling the bimbo towards himself playing over and over again in her head. Somehow, her feet moved forward and she did her best not to listen as she passed his room. She didn't want to hear whatever was going on inside of that room.

The tears fell once she was inside of her room. The high that she had been feeling on her way up in the elevator deflated. She was right about Klaus. All along, that little niggling voice in the back of her mind was right. Klaus did break her heart.

The ringing of her cell phone interrupted her crying and she reached over to see who was calling. It was her mom. She thought about sending it to voicemail, but then thought that maybe she could use a chat with her mother. She whipped at her cheek and let out a sniffle as she answered the phone.

"Hey mom," she said.

"Caroline, I didn't wake you did I honey?"

"No it's still early," Caroline replied, glancing at the clock. She did the mental math, figuring out the time back in Mystic Falls and realized that it was her mother who was awake at an odd hour. "Why are you still up? Is everything ok?"

"I've got some bad news." Caroline shifted, sitting up in attention, unnerved at the extra gentle tone in her mother's voice. "It's your father."

* * *

The alarm on his phone beeped loudly, in time with the pounding of his head. He hadn't woken up feeling like this since…before Prague, he thought. With his eyes still shut, he felt around the night table for his phone, knocking over the almost empty bottle of whiskey, spilling what was left of the cheap brown alcohol onto the hotel carpet. The phone vibrated angrily in his hand and he considered chucking it against the wall for a moment before pressing the button to silence the damn thing.

He reached over to the other side of the bed, grabbing a pillow to use as a shield from the sunlight. His thoughts returned to the night before. The bar, the drinking, the redhead, the liquor store, bringing her back to the hotel and immediately coming to his senses about two minutes after kicking the door shut. More like he was forced to his senses, rather. Klaus had gone through the motions, the choreographed touches and kisses and words; a dance of seduction he had become a master of. But it lacked passion; something that hadn't ever bothered him before.

With an apology he had quickly sent the girl on her way, a wad of cash in her hand for cab fare, and a short prayer that Caroline hadn't run into in the hallway. He needed to get the story straight, needed to find out what had happened between Caroline and her boyfriend. Elena had seemed confident that the couple would reunite, that Caroline would accept Tyler's proposal, but Klaus wasn't so sure. If the past few days were anything to go by, he knew that Caroline was coming around, maybe not to the idea of him, but to the idea of herself and how much more she deserved than the life she was settling into.

He hadn't wanted to confront her the night before. It was too late and he was too drunk, but now in the light of day, sober, he couldn't wait any longer. Throwing a fresh pair of jeans and white t-shirt on, he rushed down the hall to her room and knocked on the door. No answer. After another failed attempt he went back to his room and grabbed the phone, making a call to the front desk.

"We're sorry Mr. Mikaelson, Miss Forbes checked out late last night," the woman explained to him.

"Did she happen to say why or where she was going?"

"No sir, only that there was a change of plans and she was returning to the States."

That was it, he thought as placed the white phone back on the hook. Elena was right in her prediction. Caroline had accepted the proposal and was heading back home. Klaus stood, grabbing the bottle from the floor and pitching it into the trashcan, lamenting the fact that he had spilled the rest of his alcohol.

An hour later he was packed, showered, and ready to move on. In more ways than one. He wouldn't dwell over Caroline. She was nothing. Just a blonde in a bar, a way to entertain himself as he put on this miserable show of being some other woman's reformed bad boy boyfriend. There was no reason for him to feel hurt or disappointment because she was no one special.

He strolled over to where Elena was waiting in the lobby, making idle chatter with her publicist. His smile stretched across his face like armor, hiding his true feelings underneath an expression of cocky amusement.

"Great you're here," Elena said to him as he approached, "Elijah's out front in the car already."

"Will Caroline be meeting us at the airport then?" It was the most casual way he could think of asking about what had happened the night before without seeming too interested.

"No," Elena said, extending the handle to her rolling suitcase, "she's already headed back to the states."

"That was fast," Klaus remarked following her as she headed through the revolving lobby doors, "shame the happy couple couldn't stay a night or two in the city of love to celebrate."

Elijah came forward and grabbed Elena's suitcase, taking it to the trunk of the car for her. "Not that's it's your business, but she and Tyler broke up for good last night." Klaus's cocky grin faded away as he heard the news of Caroline's rejection.

"Then where is she?"

"She went to Chicago, to see her dad, he had a heart attack," Elena's voice dropped, "her mom called her last night. She said he was in bad shape." Klaus remained standing, stunned, as Elena slipped into the car.

"Niklaus, are you alright?" Elijah was standing there, staring at him, a hand on his arm. He backed away from the door, shutting it, and grabbed his suitcase from the trunk.

"I can't go to Spain," Klaus said.

"You don't have a choice," Elijah replied.

"You're right," Klaus said, "I don't. I have to get to Chicago."

* * *

Exhausted didn't even begin to cover how Caroline felt, as she walked into the single family home where her father and his partner, Stephen, lived. She had been in Chicago for two days and had gotten maybe six hours of sleep total. As soon as she had landed at O'Hare, she had taken a cab straight to the hospital. All she kept thinking the entire time was about her father being alone. It was lucky a neighbor hand dropped by and found him passed out on the floor of his kitchen, otherwise he could have died. They weren't even sure how long he had been there, which is what made the situation so touch and go at the beginning. Stephen was a journalist, stuck on assignment in Brazil, and wouldn't be home the next day. He called Caroline for regular updates.

Her dad was going to be fine. He was lucky. After a triple bypass the doctors told her he would be on the mend soon. Still, it was scary. Scary enough that she hadn't hesitated to jump on a plane the second her mother called her and told her he may not even make it through the night. Elena, still attempting to right her wrongs, paid the insane amount to get Caroline on the redeye to Chicago. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Elena much, but her friend rode with her to the airport, and their fight was forgotten as she briefed her on the news of things with Tyler. But all of that seemed like weeks ago when she thought about the possibility that her dad was dying in a hospital and she wouldn't get to see him and say goodbye.

She kicked her shoes off and slumped onto her father's green couch, with a box of leftover sweet and sour chicken in her hand. She had picked it up from the Chinese takeout place on the corner. It had been one of her favorites to eat at whenever she visited her dad, every other Christmas and Thanksgiving and a few weeks over summer breaks. She clicked on the flat screen, a random entertainment channel popping up.

Klaus and Elena were on screen, a clip of the two of them holding hands at some event in Barcelona. The announcer was going on about their new movie, the news having been made official. Klaus looked unfairly handsome in a black t-shirt, with the wind whipping through his curls against the backdrop of the blue ocean, as he talked about his character in his new movie and his excitement to be working alongside Elena.

Caroline groaned, turning the channel to the next station and shoving a piece of chicken in her mouth. At some point she realized her cheeks were wet. Tears she had been holding back for the past two days had finally spilled over. Tears of worry for her father, tears of guilt over Tyler, and tears of even more guilt at the fact that she was angry she had had to leave Paris before she got a chance to yell at Klaus for being such an ass.

She hated him so much. Maybe she was fixating her current worries on hating him, but she did. All she could hope was that she would see him again one day so she could really let him have it; let him know that he only did her a favor by sleeping with that redhead. So maybe they weren't officially together, and technically he hadn't done anything wrong, but if she was so special then why would he be wasting his time with other girls? The only explanation was that he was tired of making effort with her and just wanted some easy slut to bed after all. Well that was fine, he was free to do whatever he wanted and now so was she. He could stick that in his bourbon bottle and drink it right up. She hoped he would choke on it.

The doorbell rang and Caroline shot up, whipping the tears from her cheeks. It was probably another one of Stephen or her dad's friends, dropping by to check on her, bringing her yet another sympathy casserole or other gift as others had been doing over the past couple of days. She thought a moment about ignoring the door, pretending she wasn't home, but they might call Stephen or her dad at the hospital and worry them. Lifting herself from the couch, she trudged to the door, her feet dragging on the hard wood.

A quick glance in the mirror showed her that her face looked a little splotchy from crying, but she hoped the dimness of the porch light would hide that. She flipped the switch on and opened the door, her eyes forming wide surprised circles at seeing the person standing on the other side.

"Klaus?"

"Caroline," he said, her name sounding full of relief at seeing her behind the door.

Caroline stared at him, incredulous, for a few moments before leaping up and throwing her arms around his neck. Before he could say anything else, before he could even begin to explain what he was doing at her father's front door or how he had gotten there, she was kissing him. Her lips pressed fiercely to his. Klaus hesitated in surprise only for a moment before wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her feet off the ground, carrying her inside.

They crashed into the table by the front door, the back of Caroline's legs hitting it, and knocking over the vase of flowers that was there. In the back of her head, she registered the noise of ceramic breaking and the drips of water onto the floor, but she didn't care, she just kept kissing Klaus.

She knew she had lost her mind. Maybe it was the stress and the grief—she had been hating him only moments ago—but seeing him standing in the doorway made every single one of those thoughts fly from her mind. They didn't matter to her anymore as she separated her lips from his so she could focus on unbuckling his belt.

"Caroline," he said again, and she knew what he was doing. He was stopping her, yet again. Her eyes lifted and she peered up at him through her lashes. It wasn't rejection she saw there, as she had feared, but caution. Caution mixed with a tiny bit of hope that she wouldn't stop.

Her face twisted into a sultry smirk and she slid his zipper down, tugging at his jeans and pulling him toward the stairs. Klaus rewarded her with a devilish grin and stepped forward.

They crashed onto the full sized bed in Caroline's room, her back falling onto her pink frilly comforter. Klaus pressed a wet kiss to her throat as she striped him of his shirt, running her fingers down his long, sinewy torso. She giggled as Klaus seemed to fumble with the button of her shorts and he smiled into the kiss, finally catching it and pulling them down her legs. She followed him yanking off her own shirt, so that she was just down to her bra and underwear. Klaus didn't hesitate, throwing off the rest of his clothes and climbing back onto her.

She had caught a quick glimpse of him before he laid back down and began kissing her again, seeing his full on naked body for the first time. His mother really was an artist. Klaus was like a sculpted Adonis. She could feel it in the lines of his torso, the curve of his hip, the indent of muscle that led her down to his erection that throbbed against her stomach.

Her studious thoughts flew from her head has Klaus's deft fingers pushed aside the purple cloth of underwear and slipped into her wet folds. Caroline let out a wanton moan, arching against his hand. He thumbed her clit, sending glorious waves of pleasure up her spine. Her mouth opened in a small O and Klaus closed it with his lips, as he pumped his fingers in and out of her. His tongue danced in a rhythm with hers as his fingers worked her over. His lips brushed down the line of her jaw and down to her chest, nudging down the cups of her bra and latching onto her breast. She threaded her fingers through his curls in encouragement as Klaus sucked at her hard nipple. He bit down a bit roughly, the quick nip of pain sending an unexpected sensation straight to her core, eliciting a pleasured whimper from her mouth.

"Enjoy that sweetheart?" Klaus purred as he returned his lips to hers. Caroline nodded against him, grabbing his face and pulling him closer. Soon orgasm rushed over her, and she cried out against his kiss.

In her state of bliss, she hadn't noticed that Klaus had slipped off her underwear and unclasped her bra. As she came back down and into the moment, she saw him reach into his jeans on the floor and heard the crinkling of a wrapper. This was it, she thought, time for the main event. Caroline wiggled her toes in anticipation; as Klaus turned back to her, ready to go. His blue-gray eyes were almost coal colored, the moonlight coming in through the curtained window casting shadows across their bodies.

Klaus settled between her legs and entered her, Caroline sucked in a breath at the feel of him inside of her, at last. He began to move, feathering kisses along her jaw. It was unlike anything she had imagined. Better even. She had gotten so caught up in perfect moments and right times, but they were all just flimsy excuses. The excuses she made to protect herself, to protect her heart. And she guessed that perhaps Klaus, for all his bad boy bravado, had been doing the same. Somewhere between answering the door and making their way upstairs, it had dawned on Caroline that guys who wanted a quick roll in the bed didn't travel a billion miles for a girl he had only known a short time. They didn't some how show up out of thin air when that girl needed them before she even realized it herself.

His hand slid down the back of her thigh, hitching it further around her waist so that he could get a better angle. With that little maneuver, he hit her right in that sweet spot, and Caroline arched into him, digging her fingers into his back as he thrust, urging him to go deeper. Her thighs squeezed his hips and he slipped his hand between them, rubbing her swollen clit, bringing her closer and closer to that edge.

"Don't stop," she breathed out, pleading with him. Klaus answered her, increasing his pace, his thrusts becoming more frantic as he reached his own edge.

His thumb and forefinger gave her a little pinch and Caroline let out a whimpered cry as another intense wave crashed over her. Klaus followed her with his own release, a heady groan that mingle with her gasping breathes.

He rolled off of her, falling back to the other side of the small bed. Caroline's body tingled and she turned her head to see Klaus staring back at her, his curls rumpled from where her fingers hand gotten tangled in them. She let out a hearty laugh, earning her an odd look from Klaus.

"Oh my god," she said between chuckles, "what are you even doing here?"

* * *

_12 hours earlier…_

Klaus sat at the hotel bar, ordering another glass of red wine. His phone sat on top of the dark oak and he stared at it. He had been wanting to call Caroline since they had left Paris—when Elijah had told him there was no way he could go to Chicago—and see if she was alright. Elijah had forbade him from leaving. _Forbade_. And he used the word forbade. Klaus was beyond irritated with his older brother. If he thought he was the one in charge, he was dead wrong. If Klaus wanted to go after Caroline, he would bloody well do it.

The only problem was, he had no idea where she was. He knew she was from Mystic Falls, which was small enough that he reckoned he would be able to find her. But Elena had said she was in Chicago. That was a touch more difficult.

Klaus downed his glass of wine and hopped off the stool. Maybe he could borrow Elijah's laptop and do a little research. His brother was out at a dinner, so with a quick trip to the front desk Klaus was able to sweet talk the concierge into giving him a spare key to his brother's room. The time told him that he still had an hour or two before Elijah came back, so he slipped the key into the lock and opened his brother's room.

"Oh my god!"

Klaus nearly dropped the key at the sight that awaited him inside his brother's room. Elena stood there in front of his brother, scantily clad in some lacy maroon lingerie, her lipstick smudged across Elijah's mouth, her hand tugging at his tie. She looked mortified while Elijah stood there, gritting his teeth in annoyance. Klaus had already had an inkling that this was going on behind his back, but now here was the proof. A devious smile spread across his face from ear to ear.

"Well," he said, stepping further into the room, "it looks like I'll be going to Chicago after all."

* * *

**Sooo, happy guys? They finally did the deed and Elejah has been outed! Kudos to everyone who saw it coming, which was most of you. I kept dropping big and little hints along the way. :) Just as a note, I'm usually a massive Kalijah shipper, but in this story Elejah just worked out better.**

**Second, I know some of you are probably thinking...Katie, Caroline would _not_ sleep with Klaus still thinking that he had slept with the red head. Well I'm going to play devil's advocate. A) Caroline makes a mention that technically Klaus did nothing wrong because they weren't together. So it's not like he cheated on her or anything. What made her so upset about the redhead was the fact that she has been going back & forth wondering if Klaus just wants sex & after seeing him with the other girl she jumped to that conclusion. However, she quickly realizes that Klaus being at her door in Chicago goes a little beyond the effort of trying to get into someone's pants. B) I wanted to write a little impulse on Caroline's part. So far she's been very controlled about everything, but in this instance I wanted to write her as throwing all caution to the winding and just going after what she wants. Some of you may think it OOC, but I think it works here. Remember, this is an AU fic. And Caroline was never a perfect person. **

**And don't worry, talks will be had in the next chapter. They will be quite hilarious ;)**

**Feel free to let me know your thoughts. If you think the sex thing was too quick or didn't work, let me know. Fanfic is an experiment, I don't mean it to be perfect. So constructive crits are always welcome.**

**p.s. yes I have to set things in Chicago because I love this city!**

**follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey reader babes! A holiday present for you all, an update! Sad news: this will be my last update of the year. Good news: well read the chapter :) Sad news: I'm sorry I couldn't make it longer, but this was where I wanted to cut things off before we move into the second half of our tale. Good news: if you like fluff you will enjoy this one.**

**Our kids deserve a moment of basking in togetherness right before things get shaken up again? What could possibly go wrong? ;)**

**p.s. Please ignore grammar/spelling mistakes that are probably more abundant than usual. Must pack for vacation tomorrow and didn't have time for another sweep.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Elena and Elijah? I had no idea! I can't believe she didn't tell me!"

Klaus laughed, continuing to stroke Caroline's hair as he laid next to her and regaled her of the story of how he came knocking on her father's door in Chicago. The surprised and incredulous "O" shape of her mouth made him chuckle; as did her indignation over the fact that her best friend had not mentioned a word of secret relationship to her.

"Yes love and how much have you told Elena about us?" Caroline conceded his point with a stubborn glare.

The night had been spent talking and not talking, the two of them finally clearing up all their misunderstandings. Caroline told him the story about Tyler, Klaus admitted the unfortunate conclusion he had jumped to and his resulting mistake, which Caroline did her best not to hold against him. She decided that flying halfway across the world was a pretty big apology gesture, so he deserved a little credit.

"I'm so glad you're here," Caroline admitted, as the light on the other side of the curtains began to turn pink, signaling a new day. She yawned. "Is it stupid that I missed you?"

Klaus shook his head, learning in and placing a soft kiss on her lips. It wasn't stupid. He had thought the same thing. It was unusual for him, missing someone. Of course he missed his mother, since she died, and missed Rebekah when he didn't see her for long periods of time, but it wasn't until after Caroline was gone did he truly understand what it was like to crave someone's presence. To have an extreme need to be near another person, to touch them, to see them smile or frown, to hear their voice as clear as day. The idea of depending on someone that way made him uncomfortable, but he clamped down on the unpleasant feeling and chose to enjoy the fact that he finally had what he wanted.

Caroline nodded off, before he had a chance to give her an answer. Klaus pulled her in close and tucked his chin over her head as they fell asleep.

* * *

It was near midday when Caroline awoke. The previous night seemed like it was some weird dream. She was still wrapped in Klaus's arms, as he lay there sleeping. It was a wonder he wasn't jet lagged, she was still having a bit of trouble getting back into an American sleeping scheduled. Carefully she lifted her self away from him. Getting out of her bed would be a bit of a problem, since it was pushed up against the wall and Klaus was on the open side. She lifted herself up and placed her leg and arm over him, so that she straddled his body, slowly trying to get out of bed without disturbing him.

"Well this is certainly a splendid way to wake up." Caroline's eyes snapped up to see Klaus's wolfish morning grin.

"I was trying not to wake you," she said.

"And let me miss out on this?" His arms snaked around her waist, flipping her around. Caroline's squeal of surprise turned into a moan as Klaus began pressing open mouth kisses across her chest.

"No," she groaned in an unconvincing protest against his ministrations, "I have to shower. Eat. Join the land of the living."

"All things that are vastly overrated," Klaus smirked up at her, his tongue darting out across her skin. Caroline grabbed the sides of his face and pulled his mouth away from her body. At the rate he was going, they wouldn't leave the bed until that evening, if at all.

"Seriously," she said narrowing her eyes, "I have to go to the hospital."

Klaus relented, with a heavy sigh. He wasn't going to argue with her needing to go check in on her father. He rolled away and sat up, running a hand through his ruffled curls. Caroline bit back a secret smile, taking the sheet and wrapping it around her as she stood up.

"Come on," she said reaching her hand out toward him, "let's get some breakfast, I am starving." Klaus smiled and took her hand.

He retrieved his suitcase from downstairs, changing into a pair of loose sweatpants. Caroline stayed wrapped in her sheet toga, enjoying the way that those pants looked slung low around his hips. Her eyes met his and she jumped, embarrassed to have been caught staring. Flustered, she quickly turned her attention to the coffee maker.

"Would you like to have dinner in the city tonight after we see your father?" Klaus asked, "it's been a while since I've visited Chicago."

Caroline scooped some coffee grains into the filter and snapped it shut, pressing the on button. The percolator began clicking and steam started to rise from the pot. "Um, maybe," she said, her back to him as he leaned up on the counter across from her, "I'm not sure how long I'll stay with my dad."

"We can always go back to him after dinner," Klaus suggested. She turned again, searching the cabinets for cups.

"We'll see," she replied, opening the draw and pulling out two silver spoons. Klaus studied her back, her flakey replies peaking his concern. She was evading him for some reason. He walked over to her, reaching for her waist and turning her around to face him. She leaned into his body, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"Everything alright love?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Klaus pressed his forehead to hers. "You're a terrible liar." Caroline rolled her eyes, in that way she had when something he had said was usually right on the mark, but she didn't want to admit it.

"I'm just not so sure you should come see my dad with me," she said, "the whole meeting him…it seems sort of soon."

Klaus ignored the feeling of hurt her words caused. It was true, he had never been one for meeting parents—that hadn't even been his intention in suggesting that he would accompany her to the hospital, he simply wanted to be there for support. "You're right," he said, pulling away and leaving her in the kitchen. He sat down on the green couch in the living room, staring into space. Caroline came in a few moments later and sat a cup of coffee down in front of him, saying something about taking a shower, before skipping back up the stairs. The cup of coffee sat on the table, steaming and untouched, as Klaus continued to get lost in his thoughts. He brow furrowed deeply as he tried to figure out what he was feeling at that moment and why he was feeling so bothered.

The answer came to him and he shot up off of the couch, rushing up the stairs, and to the bathroom where Caroline was showering.

Caroline shut the bathroom door and turned on the water, letting it run for a while as she stared at herself in the mirror. She studied her features one by one. Her face, her hair, her eyes; everything seemed the same. She was still the same Caroline Forbes who had left Mystic Falls to travel around Europe with her famous best friend and unintentionally caught the eye of an infamous rock star. A rock star she had-against all better judgment and reason-slept with. A guy who a billion girls would kill to have wake up naked next to them in bed.

It all seemed so surreal.

She gave her arm a good pinch, flinching at the sharp pain.

Okay so it wasn't a dream.

A giant smile spread across her face. It didn't matter that he was a rock star, or that a billion and one girls would kill to have him, because he wasn't that to her. He was just Klaus. Annoyingly persistent, infuriatingly smart, unfairly sexy, always surprising Klaus. A guy who had just travelled half way around the world for no other reason than to see her, to make sure she was okay.

Steam collected on the bathroom mirror, blurring her happy reflection, and she turned to step into the shower—humming to herself as she let her head fall back into the spray. As the water rushed over her, the happy feelings were soon met by the niggling insecure ones. The unstoppable glow she had been feeling only seconds ago began to shrink away as she realized that perhaps this was it. Maybe she had been wrong about him the entire time and he would go back to Europe and forget all about her. The thought pained her, but it didn't seem like much of a stretch. Klaus had a million fans ready to fall at his feet. What made her so special? Now that she had given into him, she couldn't see how she was any different than any other groupie that had fallen victim to his charms.

Lost in her worried musings, Caroline yelped in surprise as the shower curtain pulled back, revealing an irritated looking Klaus. On instinct, she covered her chest with her arms, trying to blink away the drops of water that were running into her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She snapped, a little annoyed.

"You still don't trust me," Klaus replied, not caring that water was now leaking onto the floor.

"What are you talking about?"

"I take a redeye flight from Spain, come all the way to see you, to apologize to you, and you don't want me to meet your father—"

"Klaus my dad just had a heart attack and is recovering from surgery, I don't think it's the best time for—"

But he wasn't listening to her as he continued with his tirade. "I follow you around like an idiot for two weeks, all throughout Europe, trying to get your attention, trying to—to prove to you that I'm worth your time and even though every step forward with you results in two backwards I keep trying. I never do this! I don't do this."

Caroline shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a blue towel from the rack and wrapping it around herself. She felt vulnerable, and being wet and naked wasn't helping.

"What is it Caroline," he asked as she stood in front of him, "what do I need to do to prove to you that I fancy you—that I more than fancy you, that I—" Klaus stopped himself, trying to find the words he wanted to say, "I don't care about people. And especially not other women. Not in this way, not for a long time."

"Why do you?" She ventured, wondering if it was a legitimate question to ask.

He let out a small laugh, enjoying a private joke with himself, Caroline was about to be offended but then he spoke. "I've been asking myself that since the moment I met you," he cupped her face in his hands, "I'd very much enjoy the chance to find out."

Caroline looked up into his grey-blue eyes, noticing the vulnerability that she was had been feeling reflected back to her. She realized that it wasn't a line. Klaus still wasn't backing down. He really did like her. For some crazy reason that neither of them understood, he picked her.

"So what are you asking?"

"A chance," Klaus replied, tracing his thumb across her cheek. He could see him holding his breath as he waited for her to say something. It was interesting, the way he seemed to be just as terrified of rejection as she was. Nonsensical…but interesting.

Caroline lifted onto her toes and kissed him, her way of saying yes. She felt him smile into the kiss and relax, his warm lips covering hers. With a heavy breath she broke away, a bashful smile played at the corners of her mouth. "Okay that got way serious for a moment."

"Too serious," Klaus agreed, "I don't think that's our thing."

"Definitely not."

His hands left her face, trailing down to her towel, and opening it. Her body flushed at the appreciative glance her raked over her. "Now onto less serious things."

"I could argue that perhaps this is more serious," Caroline countered her hands reaching for her pants.

"Why must you always argue with me love?" He leaned down and planted a firm kiss on her lips, pulling away to push her back against the vanity counter. Caroline scooted herself on top of it, sitting next to the sink.

"I like having the last word," she said slipping her fingers beyond his waistband.

The wolfish grin that crossed his face then made her shiver in anticipation. It was a product of his bad boy persona that she very much enjoyed. "So do I."

"Well I—" His mouth cut off her reply as he kissed her again, his tongue darting past her teeth. Caroline hitched her knee around his waist, drawing him closer, heat pooling between her legs.

"If you are going to copulate in this house," said a voice in the doorway, "at least remember to shut the door."

Caroline pulled away from Klaus, whose shocked expression mirrored her own.

"Stephen!" She shouted in surprise, hopping down from the counter and reaching for her discarded towel.

"You're lucky it's me and not your father," the older man said with a slight grin. He threw an amused yet meaningful look at Klaus. "I think seeing his only daughter being ravished on his bathroom sink would give him another heart attack."

* * *

The next day Klaus had an early flight back to Spain. Caroline was sad that she couldn't come with him to the airport, but due to the fact that he was supposed to be in Europe with his "girlfriend" Elena, it wouldn't look could for him to be spotted in Chicago with another girl.

They had spent the previous day with each other. Caroline had spared a couple hours to go visit her father at the hospital, which meant Klaus was left alone with Stephen. It had been more than incredibly awkward sharing breakfast with him after being caught naked with Klaus. Awkward that was, for Klaus. Caroline almost felt bad that Stephen was enjoying so many jokes at his expense. It surprised her that Klaus's devil may care attitude seemed to lock up when he was around her parental figures. He became the ultra mannered and respectful Klaus she had caught a few glimpses of while they had been staying in London. She was coming to the realization that he was a man of many personalities. After an innuendo filled breakfast, she took pity on him and explained to Klaus that while Stephen was her second father for all intents and purposes he wasn't anything like her dad.

Growing up, Stephen had always been the parental figure she could talk to without feelings embarrassed or that she would face some sort of judgment or punishment. He was like a cool uncle who wouldn't exactly buy you booze when you were still underage, but wouldn't begrudge you when you go drunk for the first time when you were only fifteen.

When she returned from her hospital visit, she was happy to see the two of them getting along. She sat with them in the living room and listened to their conversation as Klaus and Stephen compared travel stories. It was also nice to know that Klaus wasn't the least bit homophobic. It was something that always worried her. When Tyler had met her father and his partner, he had been visibly uncomfortable. It wasn't that he was homophobic either, but she could tell that he just didn't know how to act around them. It was something that never improved over time.

Klaus stood with Caroline in her father's living room. Stephen was still upstairs sleeping; it was so early that the sun was not even a hint in the sky. She yawned, tired from not getting much sleep the night before. They had played it low key, dining on leftover sympathy casseroles and enjoying a movie and a cuddle on the couch. Once Stephen had gone to bed the cuddling because a little more PG-13 and they soon moved upstairs, not wanting a repeat of that morning.

"You're positive I can't talk you into coming back with me?" Klaus asked her for the billionth time. Caroline shook her head.

"I need to stay with my dad. He needs me." As much as it pained her to leave Klaus and the promise of the rest of her summer in Europe behind, she volunteered to stay in Chicago so she could take care of her dad as he recovered. Stephen was busy with work travel and things wouldn't slow down for him until the summer was over.

"This will be a long four weeks," Klaus said kissing her again, drinking in as much of her as he could.

"I believe last night you were the one who said we could make it," Caroline reminded him. The discussion about the future of their relationship had been quite lengthy the night before. Klaus would be away until the end of the summer and was scheduled to start filming straight after that. Caroline would have to go back to work in Mystic Falls.

"Well due to the modern wonders of technology I'm sure we can find some work arounds," Klaus's wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh no!" Caroline said, "I'm not starring in the Niklaus Mikaelson sex tape scandal. No thank you."

He chuckled and kissed her again. It was slow and greedy, a memory being made to carry the two of them through the coming weeks apart. The whole moment reminded her vaguely of when she had said goodbye to Tyler at the beginning of the summer. Hindsight was definitely twenty-twenty. She remembered talking to him in her room as she packed, not feeling that she would miss him half as much as she was feeling that she would miss Klaus now. It was almost enough to make her feel a bit of retroactive guilt, now that she was the one being left behind. Klaus's fingers pressed into the skin of her waist, holding her tightly, letting her know that she wasn't being left behind by choice. He would miss her just as much as she missed him.

Outside, the cabbie honked impatiently, and Klaus tore himself away with a heavy sigh.

"Time to go love," he whispered, "I'll call you when I land."

With another quick kiss, Klaus grabbed his suitcase and opened the door. Caroline leaned up against the door frame as he headed out to the street, and disappeared into the yellow cab. He threw her a small wave from the backseat as the cab jerked and rolled away.

As she watched the cab turn around the corner, she could feel her body tingle, her skin already aching again for his touch. She wanted nothing more than to run after the cab to stop him, like she was a heroine in a romance movie. As dawn began to break, she stood there fantasizing about dragging him from the street and back upstairs to have him change his mind about leaving and ravish her again. She let out another drawn out sigh, turning back into the house. This would be a _long_ four weeks.

* * *

**Hope you liked. This is one of those chapters that I started writing out from Klaus's pov and then went back and realized I wanted it to be in Caroline's. But I'm sure you smart readers can see between the lines and realize that they are both suffering from the same insecurity/not understanding why the other person would feel insecure. Our lovely OTP aren't quite on the same page yet, but for now they are basking in the new bliss of finally being in a relationship-ish sort of situation. **

**In lieu of Christmas presents feel free to leave me beautiful reviews, comments, theories, questions. Enjoy your holidays, I'll be back in 2013 with more Everybody Talks!**

**xoxo**

**In the meantime, follow me on Tumblr at Hybridlovelies**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello reader babes! Hope you enjoyed your holidays, I certainly did! And now I'm back to updating :)**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a little bit catch up for what has happened and a little bit set up for what is going to happen in the future. I'd like to think that we are now entering part 2 of our story, so things will shift a bit.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"No I told you, city department messages go on the purple message paper. Council messages get an orange sticker, not a hot pink, and those get placed in the middle inbox," Caroline let out an exasperated sigh, "it's really not that difficult. A three year old could do it."

"I'm sorry," the young dark haired girl offered, her doe-like eyes expressing how apologetic and intimidated she was feeling.

"Really April, you've had all summer to learn this. What have you been doing the entire time?" The young girl stammered over her words, but Caroline held up a hand to stop her. "Just go double check the costumes for the _Gone with the Wind_ showing tomorrow night."

"But I steamed them yesterday."

"Well steam them again," Caroline ordered, "This event _will_ be perfect. If anything has fallen through the cracks while I've been gone I want to make sure that everyone knows I'm back now and picking up the summer slack." She almost burst out laughing when April curtsied—actually curtsied—and rushed off to her small desk to finish the morning tasks Caroline had assigned her.

"Trust me Caroline, it's only been a week and things have improved considerably since you've returned," said a voice behind her.

She turned and smiled politely at the compliment. "Thank you Mr. Mayor."

Richard Lockwood nodded and walked into his office as Caroline made her way to her own desk near the window. April Young, the intern the Mayor's office had hired over the summer, had been sad to let the work station go but there was no way Caroline would be giving it up. She had earned her place at the good desk with the view.

Through the door, Caroline could see Mayor Lockwood at his desk. The father of her former boyfriend caught her eye and offered her a smile, tipping his cup of coffee toward her. She smiled and raised her own, recalling how earlier in the week he had expressed gratitude that she was back because April severely lacked skills in the coffee making department.

Caroline had expected it to be awkward between herself and the Mayor upon returning. In fact, a small part of her had wondered if she would even have a job to return to at the end of summer. Things hadn't exactly ended in best way between her and Tyler. Their breakup had been quick and firm, but it hadn't been without heartache. However, when she had called the office before her return from Chicago, the Mayor was very pleased to hear that she would be returning to her old job.

It had been a busy week for her, reorganizing and triple checking all of the things that April seemed to have let lapse over the summer; but it was nice to feel needed. Caroline had gotten used to it over the latter half of the summer while she had been caring for her father after his heart attack. Aside from his recovery, she had enjoyed her summer in the city, which had been unexpected after she'd had her taste of Europe. When her father was feeling better they went to dinners and he took her to a couple of shows, she had time to explore some of the more unusual shopping corners of the city, and even stopped by one of the colleges that was downtown; although that part was her father and Stephen's idea more than hers.

"Just think about it honey," her dad had said, "you're so smart. Too smart to work as a secretary all your life."

Her eyes went down to her bag, where the brochure for Franklin University still sat since she had stopped by their offices to get her dad off of her case. She had ended up flipping through it on the plane, since she didn't have any other reading material, and looked over their different programs.

Caroline switched her focus back to work, waking up her computer and clicking over to the Internet. Her eyes shifted back and forth to see if anyone was watching her, but everyone seemed to already be out at lunch or otherwise occupied. April had enough to do that she shouldn't be bugging her again until well after lunch. Quickly, Caroline's fingers darted across the keys, typing a few words into an Internet search engine and waiting for the results to show.

It had become a bad habit. One she told herself that she wouldn't form and one she had been advise by Elena not to form. But then the first time she had done it she had promised herself once and never again. Then the second time she told herself it was only because she had done it the first time and then that would be the last. Now she was checking different sites everyday, searching for news.

Her mouse arrow hovered over the purple link, the tale-tell color that she had been frequenting this particular website. Clenching her teeth together she clicked on it.

Two pictures popped up on her screen. The first was of a familiar couple hand in hand on a beach in South France, the second was the male half of the couple alone at a restaurant, a candid shot obviously chosen because he looked particularly miserable. Next to the photos was the headline _Trouble in Paradise_?

Caroline pulled out her phone and typed out a text.

_My condolences for your impending breakup. Should I send flowers?_

_Come now, you know I much prefer scotch when I'm feeling low. Or redheads._

Caroline frowned at the joke but let it slide as the next text came through.

_Wish you were here love._

She smiled as her thumbs flew over the phone.

_Yeah yeah. You're in amazing Europe and I'm stuck here. Rub it in._

The phone vibrated with a reply text.

_ In a week I'll be able to ;)_

Caroline rolled her eyes and scoffed at the lame innuendo. She glanced up and started, noticing that someone was staring down at her. Her hand flew to her chest in surprise.

"Geez Bonnie. You scared me!"

"Sorry," the girl shrugged, "interesting text?"

"It's nothing, just…" Caroline let the sentence trail off with a meaningful look. Bonnie gave her a knowing nod and changed the subject.

"So," she said with a bright smile, "ready for lunch?"

* * *

"How long until the official break up?" Bonnie asked between bites of salad. She and Caroline were seated out on the patio of the Mystic Grill. It was a nice, sunny day and late enough in the lunch hour that no one was around to hear their conversation. It wasn't as if they were discussing government secrets, but in a town that was known to gossip, it was important that the subject of their conversation remain between the two of them. In fact, Bonnie had been careful to not bring it up when Matt lingered at their table before taking their orders.

"Rumors have already started," Caroline answered, pouring dressing over her Caesar salad.

"I read," Bonnie replied. "Both camps still refuse to make any official comments but sources close to the couple say that they have been spending less and less time together, which could mean trouble on set later this month when the couple begins filming their new movie."

Caroline threw Bonnie an incredulous look. "You sound like a gossip magazine."

The girl's brown shoulders bobbed up and down. "It's a guilty pleasure—I have to read something other than Med textbooks. And I have a photographic memory," she said, "I can't help it."

"Elijah said that Elena and Klaus should keep everything ambiguous until after filming otherwise, the gossip will be all that much worse."

"When is filming over?"

"Two months," Caroline sighed, "he starts the week after next. He's supposed to fly here next week before going to Portland and then LA."

Bonnie offered her a sympathetic smile. "At least you'll get to see him for a little bit. And hey! Maybe you can go visit him in LA."

"Yeah," Caroline said trying to sound brighter than she felt. "Maybe. We just have to be careful though, because even coming to Mystic Falls is risky. Elena has to come too just so they can at least have the excuse that he's visiting with her."

"Well that won't matter once they break up. Then he can do whatever he wants to right?"

Caroline wanted to laugh at the idea that anything or anyone could keep Klaus from doing what he wanted either way. But in this instance it was her own insistence that the relationship be kept quiet.

"I just don't want anyone to know about us for a while," she admitted, "gossip magazines don't bother me, but gossiping southern biddies do."

"Very true," Bonnie said, "these old ladies definitely know how to hold grudges."

"They still talk about the Miss Mystic Year that Chelsea Fell drank two glasses of wine to calm her nerves and then fell off stage because she accidentally got drunk."

"Miss Mystic, _Falls_. Yes I remember it well."

"Can you imagine what they would say about me dumping the Mayor's golden son for a disreputable rock star?" Caroline shuddered.

"Well by the time you two come out of the relationship closet no one will think that's what happened. Enough time will have passed."

"Exactly. That's why I want to wait."

"Want to wait for what?" Matt said coming up behind them and pulling a chair up to the table. He flipped it around so that he sat down in it backwards, folding his arms over the back of the seat.

Caroline's eyes went wide as she scrambled for a cover. Bonnie came to the rescue.

"Wait to order dessert," she said, "you know, in case we're not hungry for it."

"Whatever," Matt said, throwing them both a confused look as he snatched a discarded crouton from Bonnie's plate. Caroline mouthed a quick thank you to her while Matt was distracted and the conversation shifted as they continued eating their lunches.

* * *

The clock ticked by slowly the rest of the day. As Caroline went through the motions of making sure everything was ready for the movie in the park that was scheduled for the following night. The Gone With the Wind screening was something the town did every year at the end of the summer and one of their more important events. Not only did most of Mystic Falls attended, but so did people all over Virginia. She had even met a few families who had driven up from Georgia to experience the movie on the big screen, surrounded by people in costumes and enjoying the epic romance underneath the stars. It hadn't rained a single year since Caroline had taken charge of the event and she took personal credit for that.

The usual enthusiasm she held though was diminished by the fact that she couldn't help glancing at the clock every ten minutes.. She had forgotten the slow pace of being in Mystic Falls after her summer in Europe and Chicago. It was still six more days until Klaus would visit. The past four weeks had slugged by even slower than she thought they would. The two of them had kept in touch, calling each other every night, texting throughout the day. Klaus had even sent her flowers and presents from the different cities that he had been visiting. Her favorites were the sketches he drew.

Dating Klaus was a different sort of experience. Different because it was unexpected coming from him and different because he treated her unlike any other boy she had ever dated. In fact, she wasn't even sure she could call it dating. It felt more like courting. A term she wasn't familiar with, but she remembered reading about it in old books. It was what men used to do with women they liked. It was an old fashioned way of doing things, which made it seem even more out of character for Klaus. Perhaps though, it just seemed out of character with the Klaus that was presented to the rest of the world. It wasn't out of character for the man that Caroline knew. The man that she had come to know on sidewalk cafes over coffee and in private basement museums-talking about art and life-had an old worldliness about him. It sometimes seemed like he had lived a billion more lifetimes than she had; he was what she had once heard Bonnie's grandmother refer to as an 'old soul'.

"Caroline, you're still here. It's after five."

She perked up at the sound of the Mayor's wife, Carol, calling her out of her musings. A glance at the clock on her computer told her it was ten after. She blinked twice, moving to shut off her computer and gather her things.

"I guess time just got away from me," Caroline said, reaching for her purse. Carol gave her a tight-lipped smile. While the Mayor had been nice to her since her return, it was obvious that Mrs. Lockwood was not to happy with the girl who had broken up with her son. But Caroline knew that it was best to be polite in this situation.

"Caroline, you're still here? It's after five." The Mayor emerged from his office and dropped a quick kiss on his wife's cheek. "You're welcome to come to dinner with us at The Grill. Tyler will be meeting us. You two haven't seen each other since you came back right?"

Caroline opened her mouth to respond but Mrs. Lockwood cut her off. "I'm sure Caroline needs to get home. She's probably tired after her long day."

Caroline smiled at the two of them, noting their contrasting expressions. It was obvious to her by the Mayor's hopeful look that he was assuming she and Tyler would mend their relationship. Carol, however, was barely holding back a judgmental scowl. Even though she had been nice to Caroline while she and Tyler had been dating, it didn't seem as if Carol hoped for the same thing. Or maybe it was that she realized the two of them would not be reuniting.

"That's alright Mr. Lockwood, I do need to get home. I need to make dinner for my mom."

The Mayor accepted her excuse and told her goodnight, ushering his wife out of the office. Caroline's shoulders dropped once they were out of sight, the tension in her body dissipating after the awkward interaction. She wondered how much Tyler had told his parents about their breakup, although she assumed that Carol had gotten a more complete story about what happened than Richard had. Even though the Mayor was a nice man, he wasn't the most attentive father in the world.

After retrieving her civil war era costume for the movie night, Caroline walked out to her car, chirping it open and climbing inside. The gaudy southern belle garment rested in the back seat. Orange and pink streaked the sky, the sun still hanging around, the long summer days still in effect. It irritated her again, the idea of time stretching out. And like a vindictive bitch, it would go by all too fast the following week. She had fibbed when she said that she had to get home and cook for her mother. Liz would be working late that night so Caroline would be by herself with take away and whatever was on TV. The idea of sitting at home bored made her groan. It would only make the whole slow time thing even more painful.

She decided to call Bonnie, to see if she was up for a drink or something; although they couldn't go to The Grill if Tyler would be there. It wasn't that she was avoiding him exactly-she was a little bit-but she didn't want their first encounter to be in front of his parents and within earshot of the usual town gossips. Bonnie picked up her phone, but said she couldn't hang out because she was having dinner with her grams. Caroline scrolled through her other contacts, knowing Matt was at work, and realizing that she had lost touch with her other casual friends from high school over the summer. With another glance at the time and some quick mental math, she scrolled to Klaus's number and hit dial, waiting for him to answer.

"I didn't expect your call this early," he answered.

"I'm sorry," she said, "you busy?"

"Truthfully, I am. Sound check with a new guitarist."

Caroline's brow furrowed. "I thought you were finished with all of your shows."

"Elijah managed to squeeze another one in tomorrow before we leave. You know him, all work no play."

"How's Elena?" She inquired, the mention of Elijah reminding her about her friend's budding relationship as well. Elena and Elijah had been seeing each other almost as long as she and Klaus had been developing their whatever-it-was they were now. Only, Elena was fortunate in the sense that she actually got to be around her boyfriend.

"Ask her," Klaus muttered. Caroline could hear the uninterested shrug that came along with his answer. Even though things were less tense between Elena and Klaus now, they had still not bonded or become friends. "I really do need to go though. I'll call you tonight after."

Caroline pulled into her driveway, cradling the phone between her neck and shoulder and shutting off her ignition. "Okay," she said, waiting for Klaus to initiate the goodbye as she stepped out of the car.

"So, what are you wearing?"

She scoffed, grabbing her purse from where she had tossed it on the passenger side of the car. "I thought you said you had to go."

"I have a few minutes and you just got home right?"

Klaus must have heard the sound of her car over the phone. "Yes. But no. We are not playing that game." He had been trying like hell to get her to give in to phone sex the entire summer. She had given in once, and tried, but it hadn't gone over well. Caroline discovered that in her highly over articulated existence the one time that she couldn't find the ability to speak was during phone sex. Apparently there were times when babbling along wouldn't eventually lead you to the point you were trying to make.

"How about a deal then?" Klaus said. "If I can guess what you are wearing, or come reasonably close, then you'll play along."

Caroline considered as she walked toward her front door. "Okay. But, you have to be a little specific. You can't just tell me that I'm wearing a dress and shoes. You have to name colors and possibly style."

"You drive a hard bargain love," Klaus replied, "very well. So you are wearing a dress and shoes. Let's see…"he trailed off thoughtfully as Caroline mounted the steps of her front porch. "A white dress, with some sort of pattern on it."

She glanced down at her white sundress underneath her fuchsia cardigan, with it's green flower pattern, trying to remember if she had worn it in front of him while in Europe. "Lucky guess."

"Not good enough…well let's see over the dress you are wearing a sweater. Pink I would wager..." She stuck her key in the doorknob turned it, walking through the door, and setting her bag on the front table.

"Okay another lucky guess," she said pulling the phone away from her face to make sure she hadn't accidentally hit the button to video chat, "you have to get the shoes spot on. Or no deal."

"Flats. Green ones. To match the dress pattern." Caroline stopped and looked down at her feet. She did own mint green ballet flats, but she wasn't wearing them that day. Instead she had chosen a pair of golden gladiator sandals.

"So close," Caroline replied, "better luck next time." A smug smile stretched across her face at the victory, but she was a little disappointed that he hadn't guessed. Not that she would ever admit that to him. "No phone sex for you."

"Then I suppose I'll have to settle for the real thing."

Before Caroline could ask him what he meant someone stepped into the hallway in front of her. She was met with a pair of ocean blue eyes and a familiar wolf-like grin. Her mouth fell open in surprise.

"Klaus?"

His smirk grew even bigger. "The one and only."

Caroline ran forward and crashed into his open arms, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him tight. She felt his chest rumble with laughter against her own. "Easy love," he said disentangling her from around his neck and looking down at her.

"Sorry," she said, pulling back to look at him.

"Miss me?"

Caroline shrugged in a failed attempt to seem nonchalant. "Maybe just a little."

"A little?" Klaus cupped her face with his hands and pressed his lips to hers, his kiss nearly knocking her off her feet. He sucked at her bottom lip, the deep hum coming from his throat sending shockwaves from her lips all the way down to her toes. When he was satisfied that he had kissed her senseless, he pulled back to see her new reaction to his presence.

"A little more than a little," she admitted, hoping he couldn't hear the loud pounding of her heart.

Klaus chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Will you ever give in and admit the effect I have on you?"

"Never," she laughed and leaned up to kiss him again. Just as she reached his lips, she gave him a hard shove back, the shock at seeing him standing in her house taking over once again. "What are you doing here? How are you even here? Didn't you get caught? Does Elijah know about this?"

Klaus blanched at her rapid-fire line of questions. "My brother is not my keeper," he said.

"But I thought you were supposed to be in London again before you came back to the states." He shrugged and it was clear to Caroline that he had decided to blow off a second trip to his family home that summer. "I'm sure Rebekah will be pleased to hear that her brother blew her off to come see his girlfriend."

"She'll get over it," he replied.

* * *

Klaus watched Caroline flit around the kitchen, preparing a small dinner for the two of them. They were confined indoors, since Klaus was incognito for the time being; it would mean disaster if anyone saw him. He didn't mind though, he liked having Caroline all to himself. She had mentioned that her mother was working the night shift and would be gone, which meant they had the house to themselves.

"Sorry we don't have much food," Caroline said as she tossed some long spaghetti noodles into a pot of boiling water, "my mom and I sort of live the bachelorette life and she's not a great cook, so we eat a lot of take out."

Klaus waved it off, he'd much rather skip dinner altogether and get straight to the after dinner activities. Instead he listened to her chat about her day over the cheap noodles and sauce, paired with the only bottle of wine she could find in the house. Caroline went on about her day and her interactions with her boss's wife. Klaus soon learned that she was employed by the parents of her ex-boyfriend and had to deal with the ramifications of her break-up at work.

"I mean I know when I see Tyler again it _will_ be awkward," Caroline said, "I just would rather it not be around his parents."

"I would rather it not happen at all," Klaus muttered into his wine glass.

"I have to see him eventually, he's still my friend."

"I've never understood the point of being friends with exes."

"That's because you don't have exes," Caroline retorted her mouth full of noodles, "one night stands don't count as relationships."

"I've had relationships," Klaus said.

Caroline scoffed, taking another sip of wine. "What relationships? Elena doesn't count. That was fake."

"They aren't relationships that you are going to read about on the internet," Klaus replied, "my first girlfriend was Tatia. When I was seventeen until I was twenty."

"Wow," Caroline said lowering her wine glass, "that's a long time." She gulped, trying to discern any possible information she could from Klaus's expression. However, he possessed a poker face of champions. If she wanted to know something, she would have to work at it. "What happened?"

"She was in love with me," Klaus said, "and I did not reciprocate her affections."

Caroline shook her head in disbelief. "How do you stay with someone for three years and not love them?"

"It was on and off for three years," Klaus said, "people stay together for many reasons other than love."

"Like what?"

"Attention. Convenience. Habit. Sex. The list is endless."

"So what was your reason?"

"A combination of those. Perhaps a few others thrown into the mix. But I eventually decided it wasn't worth it to put either of us through the pain any longer."

The coldness of his voice disturbed her. The way that he spoke of his ex-girlfriend with such indifference made her feel uneasy. She thought of the way Elena talked about Stefan. Even though she was with Elijah now—and had dated Damon in between-Elena still spoke of Stefan with a fond affection. Caroline knew that she would also feel that way about Tyler one day down the road. She backed her chair up from the kitchen table and stood, needing to be out of the room for a moment.

"Where are you going?" Klaus asked, returning his fork to his plate.

"I just, had a little too much wine," she said tossing her napkin onto the table, "I'll be right back."

Caroline stood up and passed the bathroom, going straight for her bedroom. She took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling twice, trying to gain perspective. It wasn't until that moment that she realized that most of her relationship with Klaus had been built up in her head. As much time as they had spent talking, they had spent most of their time together apart, when they should have been spending that time getting to know one another face to face. It was what people did when they were in brand new relationships.

She walked over to her dresser, looking up at the mirror. Stuffed in the corner, was an old picture of her and Tyler. It was taken a few months after they started dating, at a fundraising event in the town square. One of the photographers had snapped a picture of them together; Tyler with his arms wrapped around her and Caroline looking at him laughing. Their relationship had been brand new then, so full of possibility, and Caroline remembered thinking that she was so in love with him and would never love anyone else. That was probably how every relationship worked. They were good until they weren't and then they ended. Or sometimes they didn't, she realized. If she hadn't gone to Europe, her relationship with Tyler would have continued on, even though she had fallen out of love with him. They would have stayed together out of habit. Just like Klaus had said.

"You're upset."

Caroline gasped in surprise and turned to see Klaus, leaning up against the doorway, watching her. "You scared me."

Klaus crossed to her, coming close, studying her face in the dim light of the room. "What's the matter love?"

"It's not you it's me," she said, "I know people don't mean it when they say that, but it's true."

"Breaking up with me already?" He smirked, brushing a strand of her hair from her face.

She laughed once. "No," she answered, lifting up on her toes and giving him a kiss for effect. "It's just…how can you be so cold about Tatia? Wasn't she your first love?"

"I've never been in love," he admitted, "with any woman."

"Oh," Caroline responded, feeling a strange sense of rejection. Although it was much to early in their relationship for the "L" word it still stung. The way he said it didn't sound like he didn't have any intention of ever trying to fall in love…with anyone.

"I can see the wheels turning," he said reaching up and brushing a thumb across her cheek. "What are you thinking?"

Caroline looked up into his eyes, feeling the warmth of his touch on her face. Klaus could be cold, he could put up walls, but he had also shown that he could let them down and let her in from time to time. She wouldn't push it, not that night, not when they had so little time together. She didn't want to spend it feeling bad or fighting. So instead, she shook her head and slipped her arms around his waist.

"Nothing," she said tilting her head back and indicating that she would like to be kissed.

Klaus lowered his mouth to hers, hesitating only for a second to gauge the shift in her mood, before allowing their lips to meet. He slid one hand around to the small of her back, and the other behind her neck, pressing her closer to his body. The mood of their evening had turned from flirtatious to serious for a moment just then. As Klaus kissed her, he couldn't help but feeling a bit put-off by the argument he was sure had been about to happen. However all of the blood from his brain was begin to rush to other parts of his body, as he felt Caroline's finger flutter across the skin under his shirt.

Klaus had never been one for delayed gratification when it came to sex. Maybe that was why his desire for her was so strong at that moment; coupled with the fact that he had been celibate for an entire month. Caroline was always making him wait for it, making him work for it, so on the occasions she did give into him he wasn't about to let the opportunity pass. He was used to the path of least resistance when it came to women, but when it came to Caroline, he found that he liked putting in the extra effort to win her affections. He liked the push and pull that still existed even though they were now together.

He pulled away from her, cutting a glance over his shoulder at Caroline's bed, when he looked back he saw a mischievous twinkle in her eye that made his cock harden. He took a step backwards, maintaining eye contact, mirroring her grin. She followed him, her hands going to her shirt and pulling over her head. As they walked toward the bed together, articles of clothing were removed with each step, Caroline licked her lips as she stood there in her bra and underwear, Klaus now down to his briefs.

Her hands went behind her back to unclasp her bra but Klaus stopped her. "Wait," he said, "close your eyes."

Caroline gave him a confused pout, but did as he said. Klaus smiled, walking around and standing behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders, trailing his palms down the warm skin of her arms.

"Keep still," he instructed again. His finger dragged the straps of her bra down and he used one hand to open the clasp, letting the garment fall down her arms and away from her body, freeing her breasts. He placed a kiss onto her bare shoulder, his lips trailing down her back, to her spine. Klaus wasn't entirely certain where his patience was coming from, but he wanted to take his time with her, to savor every inch of her body. They had spent so little time together, but he saw no reason to rush things. He hooked his fingers around her underwear and dragged the material away from her and down her legs, leaving kisses along her outer thigh as he made her naked.

Her legs rubbed together impatiently and Klaus smirked as he stood up again. The little reaction told him he was achieving exactly what he wanted. He was getting her worked up.

"Keep your eyes closed love."

Still standing behind her, Klaus reached for her stomach, pulling her back flush against his front. His hands cupped her breasts, circling over and under them, his thumbs flicking over her hard nipples. Caroline moaned again, his cock pressing against her back, he knew she could feel his hardness through the material. As he massaged her, he lowered his mouth to her neck, sucking on the skin at the curve of her shoulder. Caroline tilted her head to one side allowing him better access. He enjoyed feeling her body's reactions to him, the way she would move and adjust herself, or lean into him. They were small, very subtle reactions, that she probably didn't even realize she was having, but Klaus enjoyed every one of them. They were little secrets meant only for him.

"Spread your legs," he whispered into her ear. Again she complied, adjusting herself. Klaus removed one hand from her breast and trailed it down her stomach, feeling her muscles clench in anticipation. He reached down, feeling her moist heat, the tips of his fingers teasing her before sinking two fingers inside of her.

Caroline's mouth formed a small O-her eyes still closed-as Klaus began pumping his fingers in and out of her. As he continued to suck at her neck and work his fingers within her, Caroline's hand stretched back and her fingers threaded through his curls. His hands were everywhere at once, overloading her with sensations and she knew that if he wasn't standing behind her and supporting her, she would have fallen to the ground.

Like lightening, her orgasm hit hard. She cried out and fell forward, Klaus holding onto her as the waves rolled over her. Her body pulsed and she gasped for breath as he pulled his fingers from her and settled her on the bed. As she recovered, Klaus removed his briefs and pulled out a condom. When he turned back, Caroline lay there, propped up on her shoulders, waiting for him to return to her. He kissed her smile, brushing a hand through her hair, and settled on top of her.

Just like that, none of their time apart seemed to matter any more, it was as if not even a day had gone by. Klaus felt like they were back in Europe, that first night together in his bed, and he had felt so lucky to have her near him; to finally have her attention and approval. He pulled away and looked down at her. She was breathtaking. Her skin glowed with a fine sheen of sweat and her hooded blue eyes sparkled, even in the darkness of her bedroom.

"You're beautiful," Klaus said, "do you know that?"

Caroline smiled, touched by the compliment, and Klaus kissed her again. She wrapped her legs around him and he entered her going slow. Her mouth opened against his as he filled her, lips brushing together as their bodies united.

"Yes," Caroline gasped as he rotated his hips against hers. Klaus smiled at the encouragement, increasing his pace, watching her face as he thrust into her. "Klaus."

Soon, his rhythm became more frantic, more hurried as lust began to take over and Klaus gave into his body's demands. Caroline gripped his back, her fingers digging into his skin, her little moans and whimpers of pleasure driving him further and further to the edge. He held himself off until he heard her cry out, signaling her orgasm, and he finished, grunting out his climax as she gasped for breath next to his ear. His body shook over hers and he place a loving kiss to her temple, delighting in her satisfied hum.

After a few moments, Klaus rolled away from her and headed toward the bathroom down the hall. He came back and found her sitting up in bed, her yellow bed sheet covering her body and her knees hugged to her chest. Klaus sat back next to her in bed, lacking the post-coital modesty she seemed to have now developed.

"Feel better love?"

Caroline nodded. "Much better." Klaus smiled and sat back against her headboard and pillows, gathering her against his chest. "So since you showed up early does that mean you'll have to leave again early?"

"Actually love I've been meaning to talk to you about that," Klaus said. Caroline shifted over so that she could look up at him. "Elena and I came up with a plan."

"Those words don't sound like they go together," Caroline teased, "you and Elena came up with a plan? Elena Gilbert? My Elena?"

"Yes love," Klaus continued, "it turns out your friend is quite homesick for this tiny town and since it would be beneficial for me to also be near you, we talked it over and talked to the producers of the movie and convinced them to move their location from Portland to Mystic Falls."

"You mean you'll be filming here instead?"

Klaus nodded. "That's correct. It seems I'll be here a bit longer than we originally thought."

Caroline stared at him, not believing what he was telling her. "How did you get them to change their minds?"

"Clout sweetheart. When you have two stars as big as we are working on a film and we say jump, the studios ask how high?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "So humble."

"Humility is overrated," Klaus smiled, "so, are you happy?"

Caroline's mouth twisted to the side, holding back a giant smile. "If I said no?"

"You've never been a good liar," Klaus said leaning forward to capture her lips. Caroline kissed him back, already fantasizing about their coming weeks as a normal couple. Going to dinners, introducing him to her mom, holding hands in public…but just like that the rubber band on her fantasy snapped and she pulled back.

"Wait," she said, "what about Elena? The fake relationship? Isn't that supposed to last until the end of shooting?"

"The media has already begun spinning rumors about our breakup, it won't matter soon one way or another," Klaus said, "however, Elijah suggested that it might be wise to wait until we leave Mystic Falls to make any formal announcements."

"So then we'll still be in the closet?"

"For now," Klaus said, "this is as much for your protection as it is for mine."

Caroline nodded, letting to goodness of the news come back to the forefront of her mind. "Well you've just thought of everything haven't you?"

Klaus smirked. "I've been in this business a long time. And so has Elijah. Always one step ahead."

"Okay there is not enough room in this bed for both of us and your _huge_ ego," Caroline said sitting up. But Klaus grabbed her arm and she yelped as he pulled her back and pinned her to the mattress.

"You weren't complaining about my _ego _a few minutes ago love," Klaus said brushing his nose against hers, a cocky smirk stretched across his face.

"Well I—" But Klaus cut her off and Caroline forgot her response as their lips joined in a heated kiss.

* * *

**So what'd you think? Miss Mystic puns anyone? Sorry they're lame...but I love a good pun.**

**Apologies for any spelling and grammar errors. I can be quite lazy when it comes to that.**

**Let me know all your thoughts, theories, comments in the reviews :)**

**follow me on Tumblr at Hybridlovelies**


	13. Chapter 13

**Yo! Update! Enjoy!**

**Notes at the end ;)**

**and special thanks to Kady aka Klausykins for being awesome and talking me through everything when I hate it!**

***spelling/grammar mistakes are 100% mine and I am sorry.**

* * *

"I take it you enjoyed your reunion," Elijah chuckled over the phone. Klaus rolled his eyes at his brother's snarky laugh as he strolled through the aisles of the one supermarket in all of Mystic Falls. Klaus couldn't remember the last time he had set foot in any sort of grocery store, his family had always had personal chefs for that. In LA, he rarely kept food in his house because he travelled so often, but housekeepers and assistants would stock his fridge when he was staying at his apartment long term. Caroline had left him at her house that morning, when the alarm clock on her nightstand had rudely awoken them too early the next morning.

"I have work," she had explained when he tried to pull her back into bed with a demand to turn the damn thing off.

So, Caroline was at work for the day, and Klaus was stuck at her house. He shouldn't have left, but without any distractions he soon became bored. Caroline had mentioned that her mother would be sleeping through most of the day until she got home, and Klaus had no desire to have a run in with her sheriff mother. Something told him that in spite of his fame and Caroline's good opinion, his multiple arrests wouldn't endear him to the sheriff. After rummaging through the cabinets in her kitchen, Klaus realized the Forbes's alcohol supply was non-existent, so he took it upon himself to gift their residence with a viable stock. If Caroline was going to be his girl, he would introduce her to the finer things in life, starting with wine. He walked through the racks of wine in the back of the market, trying to discern an acceptable bottle.

"I'm sure we enjoyed our reunion as much as you and Elena enjoyed your alone time." Klaus knew that would shut his brother up. Elijah never liked to discuss his sex life or even allude to its existence; he was horribly Victorian in that way. An attendant announced over the store intercom that a customer needed assistance in aisle five.

"Where are you?" Elijah asked, overhearing the announcement.

"Supermarket," Klaus said, settling on a bottle of Merlot that struck his fancy.

"You must be joking," Elijah said.  
"Don't sound so shocked brother," Klaus said, "I have been in supermarkets before."

"You misunderstand me," Elijah corrected, "I meant that you must be joking about being out in public right now. Where anyone could see you?"

"I'm not a monk Elijah. I can go outside," Klaus replied. He smiled at the teenaged cashier and handed her his credit card to pay for the wine. She took it, not even bothering to ask for idea or glance at the name. In fact, she barely paid him any attention at all. Klaus often relied on how unobservant people could be of those who surround them on a day to day basis. Klaus took back his card and the wine and headed toward the exit of the store. "No one is going to expect me to be in Mystic Falls, Virginia so no one will be looking for me."

"Small town," Elijah argued, "easy to notice an outlier."

Klaus groaned, not wanting to have this argument any more. "I just popped out for something, I'm headed back to Caroline's now."

As Klaus walked out the automatic door, he smacked into something hard. His phone went flying out of his hand and he almost lost his grip on the bottle.

"Watch where you're going man," an angry voice shouted at him.

Klaus looked over the tops of his sunglasses at the man glaring back at him. He looked younger than Klaus, perhaps around Caroline's age, with spiked brown hair. Klaus studied his face for a moment, realizing that he looked familiar to him…but unable to place him until…the glare in guy's face slipped into one of shock before settling back into contempt. With that slip of emotion, Klaus knew exactly why the man before him looked so familiar. He had been scowling at a picture of him earlier that morning that still hung in Caroline's bedroom before ripping it away from its place and depositing it in the waste bin, along with the rest of the rubbish where it belonged.

Standing in front of him was an annoyed looking Tyler Lockwood.

"Sorry mate. Didn't see you," Klaus said, slipping into an easy-going attitude.

Tyler's jaw ticked back and forth in consideration. Klaus knew he was trying to decide whether or not to admit that he recognized him. Although the boy had no idea about his relationship with Caroline, he still would have the advantage in announcing Klaus's identity to other citizens walking by, going about their days.

"No harm done," Tyler said, bending down to retrieve his phone off the ground, which had fallen next to Klaus's. "You're not from around here are you?"

"No," Klaus replied, "just visiting my girlfriend…wanted to surprise her with a bottle of wine and dinner." Tyler nodded. The disinterest clear on his face, but it was obvious that through years of being groomed as the mayor's son, he was unwilling to be directly impolite. Klaus was enjoying his discomfort too much to let up. "Her last boyfriend didn't do very much for her in the way of gifts and surprises."

"Nice of you," Tyler said, casting a glance to the side. Klaus knew it wouldn't mean much now, but he was sure the insult would resurface again later. "Anyways, sorry for running into you."

Tyler rushed into the store before Klaus could respond. He smirked and bent to retrieve his own phone, slipping it into his pocket.

* * *

Caroline frowned, rocking in her desk chair. She had just called Klaus and he had answered and hung up on her without saying anything. Now she was dialing him again, but his phone had gone to voicemail.

"Okay, not sure why you are being weird and not answering, but I'll be home soon. Just checking if you wanted anything for dinner, I'll grab something on the way. Call me."

With that Caroline hung up her phone and started to finish up her work for the day. She had been out of the office most of the day, overseeing the set up for the film screening that night. So far, everything was coming along according to her high standards of perfection. The weatherman had predicted rain earlier that morning, but Caroline kept a vigilant eye and there had been nary a cloud in the sky.

After returning a few of the Mayor's messages and calling April to double check that she had completed her duties, she packed up her purse and headed out for the day. She would have one short hour to run home, eat, and change into her southern belle costume before having to be at the screening.

On the way home, she stopped by The Grill and picked up her take-out order from Matt.

"You coming tonight?" Caroline asked.

Matt shook his head. "No can do. I'll be here again. Another double."

Caroline made a disgusted face. "That sucks. Why can't they hire more people? You work too much."

"I know but I need the money," Matt said, "so I assume you'll be seeing Tyler tonight."

Caroline bit her lip and nodded. It was unavoidable. Tyler would be at the event tonight as well, dressed as a confederate soldier. She knew this because she had seen his mother earlier that day when she came into the office to pick up his costume. And also overheard the argument over the phone with his father about wanting to skip it. But Richard had insisted that the people of Mystic Falls would expect them to be there as a family.

"Yeah," Caroline said, "how is he anyways?"

"Honestly?" Matt asked and Caroline nodded. He tossed aside the rag he was using to wipe the bar and leaned in to answer her, lowering his voice. Caroline, sensing the secrecy, leaned closer to him as well. "He was really upset at first. But I think he's moved on."

"You do?" Caroline asked, incredulous. It wasn't that she didn't want him to move on, but she hadn't expected him to do it so quickly. In spite of jumping into things with Klaus, she had still had her qualms about ending their relationship.

"Yeah, I caught him sneaking out of Vick's room the other night when I got home from work."

Caroline blinked, shaking her head in disbelief. "Vicki? Tyler's dating your sister?"

"I wouldn't call it dating…" Matt said trailing off. Vicki Donovan had never had the best reputation in high school, unlike Matt who was the golden boy, all-American football player. Vicki hung out with the stoners and the partiers and the class skippers. She also liked boys…a lot. A lot more than Caroline and her friends did when they were younger and a lot more often too. Caroline remembered how hard it had been for Matt in high school hearing his friends talk about his sister like that.

"Well I hope they are very happy together." It was the most diplomatic thing she could think of to say.

Matt chuckled, grabbing another beer glass and wiping it out. "Don't look so offended. It's not as if you haven't moved on already too."

"What are you talking about?" Caroline asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

Matt laughed again. "I've been waiting tables a long time Care, I know how to eavesdrop on customers, and you and Bonnie aren't as stealthy as you two think you are."

"Crap," Caroline said, now fully aware that she was busted, "Tyler doesn't know right? Or anyone else?"

"You think it would still be a secret if anyone else knew," Matt said, his brows raised over his baby blue eyes, "and no Tyler doesn't know."

"Good," Caroline said, "I want to tell him. I just want it to seem less like I rejected him for Klaus. Which I didn't!"

"Tyler will bounce back either way," Matt reassured her.

Caroline thanked him for the food and the discretion and headed out. She checked the clock in her car and realized that she had spent too much time at The Grill talking with Matt; she was really going to have to rush if she planned on making it to the event on time.

A few minutes later she quickly pulled into her driveway and threw the car in park, grabbing the take out food from the front seat and hurrying to the front door.

"Klaus!" She called out.

"In here love," she heard him say from the direction of the kitchen. She threw her purse on the table and walked toward the kitchen with her brown take out bag. Klaus stood there at her kitchen table, having created quite the set up. Fancy candles were lit on her mom's small table, plates of delicious looking Itlaian food set out, with a basket of bread and a bottle of olive oil. Klaus was in the middle of pouring the wine when she entered the room. He looked up at her and smiled.

"What's this?" She asked, feeling a bit embarrassed by the take out she was still holding onto. "You cooked?"

"No," Klaus said, "I ordered."

"From where? There aren't any Italian restaurants in Mystic Falls. Unless you count pizza."

"I can be resourceful," Klaus said as he finished pouring, "sit."

Klaus took her bag from her and put it on the kitchen counter as she sat down and grabbed the glass of wine. "I tried calling you about dinner before I left the office but you didn't answer."

"Yes well, I had a run-in with a very interesting bloke this afternoon while I was out buying the wine," Klaus said, "it seems we accidentally swapped phones."

"Interesting bloke…" Caroline's eyebrows knit together in confusion, "who?"

"Tyler Lockwood."

Caroline almost spit out her wine. "You saw Tyler? What happened? How did you know it was him?"

"The photograph on your mirror love."

"Hmm," Caroline said picking up her fork, "something tells me that if I went upstairs right now, I wouldn't find that photograph on my mirror anymore."

"I don't know what you mean…" Klaus said, diverting from the subject of the now trashed photo, "he recognized me, but didn't say anything."

"Well I'll see him tonight, I can get your phone back."

"You'll see him tonight?" Klaus's eyebrows shot up.

"He'll be at the screening," Caroline said. Klaus continued to stare at her, the way he did when he was displeased, his lips pursed together as if it was taking a great amount of effort not to verbally lash out. "Don't give me that look. He has to be there. His father is the mayor, so they all have to show up."

Caroline scarfed down her dinner and wine, much more quickly than Klaus would have liked. She didn't have a chance to take much notice of his scowling as she hurried upstairs to change into her costume. It was similar to the dress that Scarlett O'Hara had worn to the Wilkes' barbeque in _Gone With the Wind_. Caroline had chosen that particular costume primarily because of that fact, much to the chagrin of the other girls involved. However, she channeled Scarlett on a daily basis and was in charge of the event and therefore entitled to first pick on whatever costume she chose. There wasn't enough time to do her hair how she normally styled it for this event, so she simply rolled the sides of it back and clipped it up so it looked a bit more period to go along with the costume. With a little bit of blush and some lip-gloss she was ready to go. Glancing at her clock, if she left then, she would be right on time; which meant ten minutes early.

She walked out of her bedroom and toward the living room, where she saw Klaus standing and staring out the window with his glass of wine. It hadn't escaped her notice that Klaus never seemed interested in watching TV.

"Well," Caroline said calling his attention to her, "how do I look?"

Klaus turned toward her and she did a little spin for him, so he could get the full effect of the dress. She appreciated the way his eyes widened, and raked over her in approval. He sat the wine glass down on the coffee table and stepped toward her.

"Ravishing love," Klaus said, "I'm thinking I might not let you out of the house."

Klaus leaned down to kiss her but Caroline managed her face so he caught her cheek instead. She knew if she let him get started, she wouldn't want to stop. It had been a test to leave him in bed that morning-when he was looking all naked and delicious-and go to work. But, if she gave in now she would be late.

He dragged his lips toward her jaw, his fingers wrapping around her where her dress cinched her waist, pressing into her flesh.

"Seriously Klaus," she said pressing against his chest, trying to keep her voice even, "I'll be late."

Klaus backed away, but kept his hands on her torso, frowning at her, which made her laugh. For being an alpha male, he could be such a child sometimes. "Look, I'll leave early, at intermission. April can take over from there."

He didn't miss the catch in her voice. Caroline was a control freak and she didn't want to give up her event. But he was selfish and since she offered…

"Then I'll see you when you get home," Klaus said dropping a hot kiss to her mouth, hoping to give her a reason to rush back that much sooner.

* * *

Caroline arrived at the park and set straight to work. Families and guests had already begun laying blankets out on the lawn in anticipation for the movie to begin. Volunteers were handing out punch and popcorn and some people were taking pictures with the costumed participants. She caught a glimpse of Tyler, wearing his confederate soldier costume. He was standing near his family, smiling for a photo for the newspaper photographer. Eventually, she would have to talk to him, if for no other reason than to get Klaus's phone back. Tyler would have realized by now that the phone in his possession wasn't his, but she wondered if he had noticed her name pop up on the caller ID three times earlier that day. Her plan was to confront him, right before she left, as the movie was still playing. Then if there was any awkwardness, she would be able to leave right away.

She spared an uneasy glance at the sky. It was getting darker and a few clouds were forming overhead. The air didn't have that right before rain feeling in it and Caroline prayed that the storm would hold off and not ruin everything.

The movie started on schedule. Caroline smiled at the turnout. It was the usual crowd, with plenty of tourists. Even more out-of-towners than usual it seemed. That was good. It meant all the extra work she had done promoting the event outside of Mystic Falls had worked. It would make the Mayor and the Council happy which would hopefully mean a raise.

Caroline walked behind the crowd, watching their reactions, not paying much attention to the movie. It wasn't like she hadn't seen it a billion times and could recite it word for word.

"Hey," Tyler said walking up to her.

"Hey," she returned her eyes darting from side to side. They were far enough away from the movie audience where their conversation wouldn't be heard, as long as their voices stayed low.

"Long time no see."

"Yeah," Caroline said, "I've been busy getting back to work."

"Hope my dad isn't working you too hard."

"No he's not. It's just April. She's a little hopeless. But I'll have her in shape in no time."

Caroline smiled at him. The conversation was awkward; there was no doubt about it. Tyler had always been easy to talk to in the past, but she could tell in set of his jaw that he was trying to keep his emotions in check.

"So funny thing today," Tyler said. Caroline gulped. _Oh no, here is comes_, she thought. "Ran into a friend of yours."

"Oh yeah?" Caroline didn't know why she was bothering with playing dumb.

Tyler titled his head forward, looking up at her, not buying her act. "Klaus. What's he doing here?"

Caroline took a moment to consider her options. She could lie, but she knew she was horrible at it, and the longer she dragged it out the more drama that would be created in the long run. Enough time had passed where she could be honest with Tyler about what was going on without hurting him quite as badly.

"He and Elena are filming their movie here in a couple weeks," Caroline told him, "I just found out."

"So where is Elena now? Aren't they dating?"

"She'll be here next week," Caroline said, not knowing if that was true anymore. The story had holes in it, and she knew there was no way Tyler was buying it. But she was a coward and didn't want to deal with him being mad at her.

Tyler nodded, cutting a glance at the movie on screen, watching the beginning of the Yankee siege of Atlanta. They stood there in awkward silence for a few moments, before Caroline couldn't take it anymore.

"I need to go check on the popcorn supply before intermission," Caroline said, walking past him.

"Were you going to tell me you cheated on me with him?"

Caroline stopped and turned back toward Tyler. She looked at the crowd, hoping that the volume of his voice hadn't turned any heads before rushing back to him. "I didn't _cheat_ on you with Klaus," Caroline said, "nothing happened while you and I were still together."

"That's not the story I got from his phone," Tyler said slipping his hand into his pocket and pulling out Klaus's cell phone. "What were my favorites? '_Sorry we never got our date in Paris...I'll make it up to you soon. London with you was magical, I'll never forget Rebekah's party. I'll never look at that chair the same way again after we…_"Tyler trailed off with a short humorless laugh, "well I'm sure you remember how that one ended." Caroline felt her face flush, remembering the incredibly personal texts she and Klaus had shared after they had parted ways in Chicago. "I'm pretty sure we were still together until you rejected me in freaking Paris."

Caroline's fists clenched at her sides; indignation over-riding her embarrassment. "Excuse me, you broke up with me before that, if you want to get technical about it. You were pissed at me and acted like a child because I wasn't paying enough attention to you."

"Well apparently that was a good decision. Did you hook up with Klaus as soon as we got off the phone or did you wait a whole twenty four hours so you could feel like less of a slut for throwing yourself at the first celebrity you had your chance at?"

Her arms crossed over her chest in defense. "Speaking of sluts, how's Vickie Donovan? How long did you wait until we broke up to jump into bed with her?"

Tyler glared at her and something told Caroline that it wasn't that long of a wait between the time they had broken up and the time he started screwing around with Vickie. He threw up his hands in exasperation, before turning and walking away. Caroline watched him go, keeping her arms wrapped around herself tight. Tears welled in her eyes. She felt stupid for wanting to cry, but Tyler had been cruel. She couldn't believe he had been so mean to accuse her of cheating on him.

The tears were rising, she could feel them, and she hurried around to hide around back of the movie screen before anyone could see them fall. As the tears slipped out, Caroline realized that she had forgotten to exchange phones with him. Hopefully Klaus would understand that he would just have to buy a new one. There was no way she was attempting to speak to Tyler ever again.

"Caroline."

She turned and almost screamed in surprise, but caught herself, remembering that the movie was going on right on the other side of where she stood. Klaus was there, stepping over the large cables laying on the ground that were hooked up to generators and amps.

"Klaus," she whisper yelled at him, nearly tripping over one of the large black cables herself, "what are you doing here? Someone could see you!"

"Well I couldn't miss out on seeing you this dress," he said, "too good of any opportunity to pass up."

"I didn't know period costumes were your thing," she said with a sniffle.

Klaus stopped in front of her, his expression losing some of its mirth as he realized her cheeks were wet. "Are you crying?"

"No," she said wiping at her face. His brows shot up, indicating his skepticism. "Yes. I just—Tyler. He's being a dick. I don't know why I expected more."

"Shall I talk to him for you?"

"No," Caroline laughed placing a hand on his chest, "since I suspect any conversation between the two of you will include more punching than talking."

"I promise to be perfectly civil," Klaus replied.

"Yeah right," Caroline said, "you both have terrible tempers. Someone would end up bleeding."

"Well it wouldn't be me," Klaus assured her.

"No need to brag. I get it, you're big and tough." She poked her tongue out at him.

Klaus loomed over her, his eye contact and stance asserting a sexy type of male dominance that made her shiver and bite her lip. "I don't like being mocked love. Perhaps I should have a talk with you as well."

His hands ran over her fake corset lighting a fire in her stomach. His palms slid around her waist and he pulled her against him. "Again…I don't think there would be much talking."

Klaus didn't respond, instead lowering his mouth to hers. Her hands slid around the back of his neck and through his curls, her lips parting to let him deepen the kiss. Caroline felt like she was living every Scarlett O'Hara fantasy she'd ever had, wearing her costume as Klaus kissed her. Her heart pounded beneath her pushed up breasts as he backed her up, his hands fisting at the top of her skirts. Caroline was about to separate herself and let him know that it wasn't a good time for a quickie, what with their unfortunate location and her gargantuan ball gown and all, when several terrible things happened all at once.

As her dress brushed against the back of the screen, her mouth parting from his, as her footsteps became tangled in her skirts. She tried to correct her balance, but instead tripped over a group of wires. Klaus's hands shot out and he stepped forward in attempt to catch her, but tripped over the same wires, tumbling into her.

Caroline went down, Klaus following her and landing on top of her. She landed with a loud grunt and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that was a weird movie glitch and not a loud tearing sound she heard as she fell. The pain of the fall and Klaus's weight on top of her took a backseat to everything else.

One eye opened and then the other. Her head tilted back to see the entire Gone with the Wind audience staring at them, their mouths hanging open in surprised. She looked up, over Klaus's shoulder to see a giant rip in the screen where she and Klaus had fallen through.

The movie was still playing, and Scarlett announced that she would never go hungry again, but no one was pay attention to the iconic scene. Instead they were all gaping at the compromised couple laying on the ground in front of them.

"Is that Niklaus Mikaelson?" She heard someone ask. Her had went to her face, wishing she could hide.

"Holy crap! It is!"

_Shit_, she thought.

The secret was out.

As if it couldn't get any worse, at that exact moment the clouds opened up and it began to rain.

* * *

**OH no! They've been caught! But maybe not? I don't know! Crazy!**

**I hate writing Tyler as a completely dick, and I'm nervous that's how he comes off sometimes, especially in this one. But the way I see Tyler's character is that he's always a dick about things right away until he has a chance to calm down.**

**Also, writing Klaus in a grocery store made me cringe haha I couldn't imagine him doing normal people things, so I added some humor in Elijah's reaction to him being out. **

**And just so you know, Gone with the Wind is one of my favorite films ever. So yeah.**

**Let me know what you think!**

**follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey All! How are all of you lovely people? Quite well I hope. And hopefully, you enjoy this update :) This story has changed so much from what I originally set out to write, I hope it doesn't seem confusing or weird at this point. I take inspiration from real life and other things I read and end up rolling them into my story ideas...so this is definitely a product of that.**

**Sidenote: I've done some online research about paparazzi and privacy laws and to me, they seem to be a GIANT gray area most of the time. So if any of you readers who are well-versed in privacy laws catch some super terrible error on my part, feel free to let me know. It's always good to learn :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"This is a disaster!" Caroline exclaimed pacing back and forth around her living room. Klaus watched her from his seat on the couch, his arm slung over the back. He decided his blonde girl looked rather cute with her wide blue eyes and frazzled nerves. The amusement he felt _almost_ made him feel guilty.

After their mishap at the movie screening, Caroline had dragged Klaus out of the park as fast as she could, speeding home and mumbling to herself about what to do next. She had changed out of her costume, into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt—much to Klaus's dismay-not registering his relaxed and unconcerned attitude about the whole thing.

When she came out of her room, she decided that the first thing they should do was call Elijah. Klaus bit back his frustration at her suggestion, knowing that he was in for a huge I-told-you-so lecture from his elder brother/publicist. But he decided to grit his teeth and bare whatever Elijah had to say it if it would allay Caroline's worries. He needed her to relax. He had plans for the night that involved her temporarily changing back into that lovely civil war era dress she had donned that evening.

"Seriously! What are we going to do?!"

"Caroline calm down," came Elijah's voice over the speakerphone she had set up on her coffee table. They had to use Caroline's phone to make the call, since Klaus's had never been retrieved his from her ex. It was fortunate that he had memorized Elijah's number after having to call him from jail many times following his arrests. "I assure you, everything will be alright. Tell me again what happened."

Caroline sighed. "Klaus and I were behind the movie screen and he was kissing me and we started to get a little out of hand—"

"Caroline I don't need you to be quite so detailed," Elijah said, clearing his throat.

"Oh. Right. Well, we tripped and fell through the screen and Klaus landed on top of me and the whole audience saw. People recognized him."

"I'll pay to have the screen replaced," Klaus chimed in, hoping the offer would mitigate Elijah's irritation. He knew without having to see his brother, that Elijah would be more than annoyed. Elijah was used to working in this business in which things didn't always go according to plan, and tactics would have to be altered from time to time, but he hated when it was a result of something that could have easily been avoided.

"We'll have to wait and see if the press gets involved," Elijah stated, "there aren't any photographs of you two, so there is no proof that Klaus is in fact, in Mystic Falls. Only hear say and rumors."

"No one ever leaks anything about me," Elena said in the background. Klaus grimaced at the sound of her voice. "Everyone in town respects privacy."

"Yeah but there were tourists," Caroline explained, "people we don't know and who don't know us." Elena was right, Caroline knew. The people in Mystic Falls had always respected her privacy…to a point. They had never alerted the press when she was in town, or took pictures of her, or practiced any other invasive acts that were typical of people mooching off of celebrities. "What if an out-of-towner says something?"

"Again, rumors and speculation," Elijah said, "for now we'll wait and see what surfaces and act accordingly. My advice is to lay as low as possible and don't talk to any press, should they attempt to contact you."

Caroline nodded, even though Elijah couldn't see her and let out a long breath. "Okay."

The call ended and the screen on her phone went dark. She looked up at Klaus, who smiled at her. "Thanks for the help." She said, sounding the opposite of grateful.

"What have I done?" The grin played around Klaus's dimples making his whole innocence act less sincere.

"Nothing! You've done nothing," Caroline said, "how can you be so calm about this?"

"It's not my first time being in scandal."

"Well it is for me!" Her eyes were wide and Klaus sighed. Perhaps scandal was the wrong word to use. He knew that Caroline was making a bigger deal out of this than it warranted and wasn't very receptive to his teasing. He lifted himself from the couch and reached for her arm. Caroline let him pull her around the coffee table and down onto the sofa next to him. Her shoulders slumped, the defeat causing her confidence to sink. She hated feeling out of control, and not being able to do anything about it. The patience, that Elijah had suggested, was not one of her strong suits.

"You should calm down love," he said cupping her face with his hands.

"I _hate_ when people tell me that," she said through gritted teeth. Her tone lacked anger though. Klaus knew she was annoyed with the situation, more than she was with him.

"It's true though," he said, "look at me." Caroline's innocent blue eyes met his and he smiled, trying to reassure her. "Do you think I would let anyone say anything bad about you?"

"You can't control what people say and think," she countered, "no matter how much you think you can."

* * *

After their accidental outing at the movie screening, Caroline was glad to have the weekend to take a break. Klaus managed to distract her by enlisting her help in looking for a temporary residence in Mystic Falls. They managed to find a furnished apartment near the center of town where the landlord didn't mind renting out to Klaus on a month-to-month basis. It also didn't hurt that Klaus offered to pay him double his asking price.

Caroline stayed with Klaus in his new apartment Sunday night. Her nervous edge had returned somewhat by dinnertime, since her return to work loomed over her the next day. Klaus had managed to keep an eye on her, keeping her away from her phone and the Internet, making sure that she wasn't obsessively checking gossip sites for their names. He kept in touch with Elijah though, texting him a few times in case he did need to prepare Caroline for bad news.

But all was quiet. Too quiet. Which in the end made him feel a bit nervous as well.

That night they laid in bed together, Caroline traced lazy circles across Klaus's chest as he rubbed her arms.

"You know what," she said, her breath warm on his chest, "everyone can suck it."

Klaus chuckled, not following what thoughts had been firing in her brain."What do you mean love?"

"If anyone is going to have anything bad to say about you and me they can suck it," she propped her chin on his chest and looked him in the eye, "I know you. It doesn't matter what anyone else says. What we have…it's between us."

Klaus stared down at her, wondering how he had ever been fortunate enough to meet someone like her.

* * *

Monday morning arrived. Caroline woke up, showered, and got ready for work at Klaus's. She had brought a change of clothes over to his place in preparation. Once she was dressed, with makeup applied and hair smoothed and styled, she examined herself in the bathroom mirror making determined eye contact with her reflection.

"You can do this," she said to herself, "no reason to be nervous."

Klaus smirked from the bedroom, over hearing her little pep talk. When she emerged he offered her an encouraging smile. She grinned back, giving him a kiss, and rushed out the door.

Her favorite song was playing on the radio when she got in her car. She took it as a good sign. The universe was telling her that everything was going to be okay. She pulled into her usual parking space outside of city hall ten minutes earlier than normal, since Klaus's apartment was only a couple blocks away. Stepping out of her car, she smoothed down her skirt and hair, checking her reflection in the window, and heading for the front door.

No one was staring at her, she reassured herself. Those lingering looks weren't as intrusive as she thought them to be.

"Good morning April," she greeted the young intern as she breezed into the office.

"Um h-hi, Caroline," April said, holding the clipboard in her arms tighter to her chest. "I didn't know you would be here."

Caroline shot her an incredulous look. "Why wouldn't I be here?"

"Well, b-because—"

"Caroline," the mayor interrupted April's stammering, "can I see you a moment?"

Caroline kept the bright smile on her face, not giving away even a hint of the nervousness she was feeling. "Certainly."

She flashed April another easy smile, reassuring the girl that in spite of anything she may have heard, Caroline was still queen bee. The girl returned her smile with a lopsided grin of her own and took her seat as Caroline strutted into the mayor's office. Richard shut the door behind her and told her to take a seat in front of his desk.

"Caroline," the mayor began, "you've been with this office what three years now?"

"Four," Caroline reminded him proudly.

"Four. Right, of course. And in that time you've become invaluable. You've done amazing work."

"Thank you," she said, attempting to sound humble.

"But we think it's time that perhaps you take your talents elsewhere," the mayor said, adjusting the neck of his tie nervously.

Caroline blinked. "I don't understand."

"Caroline this office—our budget—we simply can't afford to have two interns. And we thought perhaps it's time to give someone else a chance."

"But I'm not an intern."

"Officially you are," he replied, "you began working here as an intern and even though you took on more responsibility that the average intern you're position was never officially changed."

"Wait, let me get this straight," Caroline said, "you're firing me and letting April stay? April? She can barely alphabetize!"

"Don't think of it as firing, think of it as a chance for a new beginning."

"A new beginning?" Caroline repeated, her voice raising in pitch. "You said yourself that my work here is invaluable!"

"Yes, so I'm confident that you'll do even greater things elsewhere."

Caroline's jaw ticked as she tempted to hold back the urge to give the mayor a verbal slap. "Is this because of Tyler? Is this because I broke up with Tyler?"

Now the mayor looked even more nervous. "Of course not."

By the way he said it, she knew that was exactly the reason for this change. Somehow Tyler or his mother or both of them had finally convinced Richard to get rid of her. Of course, the Mayor wouldn't admit to that. Not only could she potentially sue him for something like that, he was a true politician through and through. He could spin anything to make it look positive.

* * *

After Caroline headed to work, Klaus contacted his assistants in L.A. Arrangements needed to be made now that he had secured a temporary residence in Mystic Falls and would be staying there for a more extended period of time. The apartment he had selected was not as large as the one he owned in California, but it was nice enough and it provided a place away from the prying eyes of Caroline's mother.

He had met her briefly, over lunch Saturday afternoon, and Klaus could tell the sheriff wasn't impressed. But that didn't bother him. He didn't care about impressing Liz Forbes as long as it didn't diminish Caroline's opinion of him. Which it didn't.

Once he got off the phone with Rose, his assistant in L.A., he pulled out his sketchbook. There wasn't much else for him to do at the moment, with no public appearances to make and no place to be, not to mention entertainment options in Mystic Falls were lacking. More and more pages had begun to fill up with Caroline. Klaus wondered if maybe he wasn't becoming a little obsessed with her. Maybe obsession wasn't the right word. She was his muse perhaps? He did feel inspired by her. Inspired to create in a way that he hadn't felt since he was much younger. Not only did she inspire him to create, but in other ways as well.

Elijah had made more than one comment about Klaus's changed attitude since his relationship with Caroline began. Klaus had always waved him off, insisting that no woman would ever change him…but that wasn't true. Caroline _had_ changed him. Even the media had noticed how he had kept himself out of trouble all summer long. Of course, they attributed the change to St. Elena, but Klaus knew the real reason. He smiled to himself. If anyone was worth allowing a few changes for, it was Caroline.

His phone rang, interrupting his musings. Klaus had taken care of purchasing a new phone, since he had no desire to cross paths with the Lockwood boy to retrieve his old one. No doubt if he ever saw Caroline's ex, his streak of good behavior would be immediately cut short.

"Elijah," Klaus said answering the phone, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Niklaus, we have a problem."

Klaus switched the phone to the other ear. "What is it?"

"_Niklaus Caught Cheating_," Elijah read to him, "_Just how long has the rocker been messing around with his girlfriend's best friend behind her back?_ It's all over the top celebrity tabloids."

Klaus clenched his fists, his jaw tightening as his temper began to flare. "What? How can they print these stories? What proof do they have?"

"I've spoken to Katherine and she talked to her contact at the magazine," Elijah said, "they say they have text messages to back the story up. Messages from your phone, but not from a hacker. An anonymous source that they are willing to stand behind 100%. Do you have any thoughts on this?"

"I had the misfortune of losing my phone the other day." Klaus cursed. Now he was definitely going to kill Tyler Lockwood. He was sure that Caroline wouldn't protest this time.

Caroline.

He needed to tell her before she found out the hard way.

"Klaus," Elijah said calling his attention away from her murderous fantasies and back to their conversation, "the press knows where you are and now that there are hints of a scandal…"

"I know," Klaus said, "I'll deal with this."

"I trust you will," Elijah said, "just try not to exacerbate things until I can get to Mystic Falls."

"No promises," Klaus said before hanging up the phone.

* * *

"Fired," Caroline said, rehashing the whole story to Bonnie over lunch at the Grill. It was an early lunch, of course, because she was now unemployed and had nothing else to do. Instead of salads and diet sodas it was burgers with cheese fries. She needed to eat her feelings.

"Wow," Bonnie said, "I can't believe his dad would pull such a dick move."

"Like son, like father," Caroline grumbled stuffing another cheese drenched fry into her mouth.

"Well maybe it's a good thing," Bonnie suggested, "I mean now you aren't tied to your job anymore. You could go back to school or something."

"Yeah," Caroline said, still not able to embrace any possible silver lining at the moment. That job was the one thing that made her feel good and valued. It was something she was good at. Now what was she supposed to do. School had never really worked out for her and if the mayor was bitter toward her, Caroline knew that she would soon be black listed throughout all of Mystic Falls for her indiscretions. No one would hire her now.

"What about Klaus? Maybe you could head out to LA with him? If you think things are headed in that direction."

Were things headed in that direction? Caroline didn't know. She had been back and forth a lot over the course of their relationship on how serious he really was, but the past few days she had begun to feel differently. She was starting to feel more relaxed. There situation was feeling more like a real relationship now, different from the way it felt back in Europe over the summer. It had become grown up in a way, although no less passionate. Like any other girl, Caroline had often fantasized about finding Prince Charming and living happily ever after. On the outside, Klaus was everything she hated. Rude, cocky, conceited and-very often-controlling and selfish. But as she said to him the night before, she knew him. She knew the real him and those attributes he displayed weren't his entire personality. He could be soft and sweet and quite caring. She had realized over time that she never wanted him to be one or the other person, because then he wouldn't be who he was and that's the man that she was falli—

"Hey!"

The shrill voice of Vicki Donovan broke through her thoughts and she looked up. The girl wore a smug smile on her thin face, making her frosty pink lip-gloss look that much more annoying. Still, Caroline had always _tried_ to be nice to her, just because she was Matt's sister. But at that moment she wasn't in the mood.

"What do you want Vicki?"

"Have you seen the news today?" Vicki asked. "Pretty interesting stuff."

Caroline frowned, not catching on to whatever joke Vicki thought was so funny. "What are you talking about?"

"Here," Vicki said tossing a magazine onto the end of their table, "read it and weep." She cackled as she walked away. Caroline's eyes flicked down toward the magazine. She reached out and pulled it toward her, reading the bright yellow headline on the front cover. Her stomach dropped as she registered her own picture placed next to large ones of Klaus and Elena and the word 'cheating' stamped next to her face.

"Oh shit," she heard Bonnie say. Caroline felt sick. Her head snapped up and she became aware of all the eyes on her. Everyone knew, or thought they knew. They had seen or heard about her mishap in the park and now they were reading some exaggerated story about her and Elena and Klaus. Her stomach turned, and she could feel the cheese fries climbing back up her throat.

"I need to get out of her," she said quickly, Bonnie nodded and tossed some cash on their table, following Caroline as she rushed outside.

She was stopped in her tracks by a wall of a half dozen or so cameras and people, all shouting at her at the same time: Questions about her relationship with Klaus, her assumed betrayal of Elena, her plans for the future. Call outs to look left, to look right, over here over here! Her head spun and she felt Bonnie grab her arm, tugging her back inside away from the madness. But the group followed her, continuing to shout at her.

"What's going on?" Matt said rushing to their sides.

"Something about her and Elena and Klaus," Bonnie shrugged, since Caroline couldn't seem to find her voice.

The shouting continued until Matt Donovan raised his voice.

"Okay that's enough," the deep cadence caused everyone to jump, Caroline included.

Caroline could probably count the number of times on one hand that she had ever heard Matt raise his voice, and that's including all throughout his high school football career. He was on of those people that so seldom spoke up, that when he did, people listened. It seemed though that that power extended beyond the people that had known him his entire life. The flood of photographers and journalists came to a silent stand still. A lone shutter clicked over as everything went quiet and Matt flashed an angry glare at the tiny, balding man who had dared let his camera off one last time. The man shrank back with the rest of the group.

"All of you. Out. Now!"

The group backed out of the restaurant, followed by a few lingering patrons from the early lunch crowd. Matt stalked after them, locking the door firmly once the last one had gone out. Caroline slumped into a bar stool as Matt made his way around the restaurant, shutting the blinds, to discourage any brave photogs from snapping pictures through the windows. Bonnie put a hand over Caroline's shoulder, giving her a sympathetic look.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Caroline breathed, "Matt…how did you do that?"

He shrugged, joining them at the bar, now back to his nice, non-scary self. "I'm guessing we're stuck here for a bit."

"How long do you think it will be until they go away?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know," Caroline replied.

"How about a drink. I think we could use it." Matt reached for a bottle of vodka, but Caroline shook her head.

"I'm sure it won't do me any favors to walk out of here drunk." Just then Caroline's phone rang. She retrieved it from her bag and answered it right away. "Klaus…yeah I heard…um well I'm kinda stuck at The Grill, a bunch of photographers showed up…yeah I'm okay…no! Do not come down here. I can handle this!..."Bonnie and Matt exchanged worried glances as Caroline argued with Klaus over the phone to stay at his apartment. "Look just there and I'll be back as soon as I can. Then we can figure out what the hell is going on." She hung up and set her phone down on the bar. "Apparently someone sent Klaus's phone to a news outlet. The ownership was verified with all of our texts to each other on them."

"How did the media get Klaus's phone?"

Caroline was about to open her mouth to answer. She knew exactly how the media had gotten ahold of Klaus's phone, with the history of almost their entire relationship on it. Just as she was about to tell her friends who the culprit was, said culprit made his entrance through the employee entrance of the bar.

"Hey, where's Vick? She told me to meet her—whoa!" Tyler's eyes went wide as he saw Caroline's sitting at the bar, giving him a death look. She shot up out of her seat and stomped toward him.

"I'm going to kill you!"

* * *

Klaus hung up with Caroline, fuming. Not at her, but at the fact that the paparazzi had already pounced. Damn, they were getting faster and faster. Although she had it was only a half dozen or so, Klaus guessed that there would be more in the coming days. Not to mention the amateur photographers and journalists that would no doubt spring up in out of nowhere in Mystic Falls. Caroline may trust the people in this town, but he didn't.

Instead, he chose to ignore Elijah's advice, as well as Caroline's. He would make his way down toward The Grill and get Caroline out of there. It was his fault she was being attacked in the first place. He sighed to himself, considering the larger implications that would follow now that they were outted. Things weren't going to get better, that was for certain. For now, he just needed to get to Caroline and make sure she was alright.

* * *

Caroline must have looked especially ferocious, because Tyler took a few steps back, throwing his hands up in confused surrender.

"What the hell did I do?" He asked. "You're the one who broke up with me."

"That's not what I'm talking about Tyler, I'm talking about Klaus's phone. You sold me out and sold our whole story to the media!"

"What?" He blinked dropping his hands. "I lost Klaus's phone after the movie night. Honestly, I don't know where it went."

"Well then who took it?" Bonnie asked from behind Caroline.

"I had it in my room and it was gone. Maybe Rosa swiped it when she was cleaning."

Caroline blanched not believing the excuse for a second. "Tyler, your house keeper can barely figure out the coffee maker, let alone use a cell phone."

"I swear Caroline, I have no idea how anyone got a hold of that phone."

Just then, Vicki made her way from the bathroom, her frosty blonde curls bouncing in time to the loud click of her heels. Caroline's eyes went to her shoes, widening when she noticed something familiar about them.

Vicki ignored Caroline and the others, heading straight for Tyler and wrapping her thin arms around his neck. "Hey Ty, you're here! Ready to go?"

"Are those Dolce & Gabbana?" Caroline asked, remembering Elena having worn something similar over the summer.

"What's Dolce & Cabbana?" Matt asked looking over at his sister and then down at her shoes.

"Gabbana," Caroline corrected, tilting her head toward Vicki and waiting for an answer she was fairly certain she already knew.

"Yeah," Vicki said deigning to glance at Caroline. She preformed a cocky little twist, kicking her foot back and showing off her fancy shoes. Her eyebrows flicked up and down, confirming to Caroline that her suspicions were correct.

"I don't get it," Matt said.

"Those shoes cost over a thousand dollars," Bonnie explained.

"Shit Vick," Matt said, "where the hell do you get the money for something like that?"

"By stealing Klaus's cell phone and selling it off to the highest media bidder."

Caroline crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow at Vicki and daring her to deny it. Vicki gave her a saccharine smile, her large teeth sparkling with smug pride.

"You just need to learn that you don't mess with my man."

"Wait what," Tyler stepped away, disentangling himself from Vicki's embrace, "you took the phone from my room and sold it off."

"Caroline deserved it. She was a total bitch to you. She needed to be taught a lesson." Vicki tossed back her hair. "Besides, I was gonna split the money with you."

Caroline scoffed. She highly doubted that part of the story was true.

Tyler shook his head, walking past Caroline and Bonnie and away from Vicki.

"I can't believe this. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I just wanted to do something nice for us baby," she pouted attempting to plaster herself onto him and earn his forgiveness.

"Whatever," Caroline said ignoring whatever spat they were about to have. Knowing that it was Vicki and not Tyler who sold her out didn't change the fact that she was now in a world of trouble. "Matt is there any secret way out of here? Like Underground Railroad type passageway or something?"

"I think this building is a little too current to be a part of the Underground Railroad," Bonnie chimed in, "just saying."

"I have my truck," Tyler piped up, ducking his head when the group focused on him again, "There actually wasn't anyone around back when I came in. I can give you a ride. It's the least I can do."

Caroline was about to deny him when Bonnie spoke up. "You can leave your keys with me and I can bring your car by later."

She considered her options. Let Tyler sneak her out now, or stay at The Grill for an undetermined amount of time until the paparazzi left and she could make her escape to her car. Well, at least there was food and alcohol at The Grill…

"Okay," she said nodding at Tyler, "let's go."

Vicki stamped her heel. "Ty!"

"Save it Vick," Matt said, the scary voice returning a bit, "you're in enough trouble as it is."

With that, Caroline followed Tyler down the back hall of the Grill, past the kitchen and storage, to the employee entrance. He went out first; making sure the coast was still clear. It was, and he held the door open for Caroline, following behind her as she headed for his black pickup truck.

"I can't believe you thought I would sell out your relationship to the media like that," Tyler said. He unlocked the door and opened it for her. If Caroline wasn't so exasperated with him already, she would have paid more attention to the fact that he had picked up a few new gentlemanly habits since their break up.

"Well what was I supposed to think Tyler?" She asked, standing between him and the truck. "Especially after all those horrible things you said to me in the park."

"I'm hurt Care. What do you expect?" Tyler let out a long, frustrated breath, dragging a hand over his face before he spoke again. "Look you know me. You know I say shit I don't mean when I'm angry. But I would never, _never_ sell out a friend like that okay? And especially not you."

Caroline studied his serious expression; the way his head tilted forward and his wide eyes begging her to realize that he was telling the truth. Her mouth twisted in consideration before she conceded with a sigh of her own.

"You're right," she said, "I know. You would do that. I'm sorry I accused you."

"Thank you," Tyler nodded, the relief on his face evident.

Caroline bit her lip. "I hope we _can_ be friends. I'd like that."

She offered him a warm, hopeful smile, meaning what she said. She really did want them to be friends at some point when they had both moved on and things became less awkward.

"I hope so too," Tyler said, "eventually."

Caroline turned to climb into the truck. "Although, don't expect me to be friends with Vicki or double date with you guys."

Tyler chuckled, the sound warming Caroline's heart. "Trust me. That's way over. Especially after the stunt she pulled—"

Caroline looked back up at Tyler just in time to see an angry fist connecting with his cheek, knocking him out cold.

"Oh my god," Caroline yelped jumping out of the truck. "Klaus!"

* * *

**So the drama gets kicked up a notch!**

**I don't know about you...but I'm looking forward to Elijah coming back. I can't wait to write him again. Him and Elena will be back in Mystic Falls by the next chapter. Oh and someone else will be travelling to Mystic Falls soon as well. We've met them already in this story...can you guess who? ;)**

**Also, I had to add that little redeeming moment for Tyler. Sorry if any of you are extreme Tyler haters, but I do enjoy him even though he has some incredibly dick moments. He usually makes up for it somehow, so I decided to give him that chance in this story.**

**Oh and another thing, I think Kayla Ewell is GORGEOUS but I kinda depicted her as looking a little trashy and cheap here because...well she kinda is on the show. What can you do. **

**Anyways enough about me, let me know what YOU think! I always love hearing from everyone. **

**xoxo**

**follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


	15. Chapter 15

**Helloooo beautiful readers!**

**So I know some of you read my blog and are looking at the word count and thinking "Hey Katie, didn't you _claim_ to have written 7,000 words yesterday? What the heck?!" Well confused readers I did make that claim, and that claim is true, however the 7,000 words encompassed the end of this chapter, the next chapter, and the beginning of the chapter after that! I've been trying to get ahead of myself and write write write because the thing is we are beginning to reach the end of the story. When I'm at the beginning and end of my fics I like to write ahead so that way I can make sure I have loose ends tied up and everything in place instead of updating on the fly and realizing "oh fuck! I missed something, now I have to go back." So just expect another regular update next week, nothing too fancy :)**

**Thanks again for all the reviews, fangirling, and support. Thanks to Kady for reading over my stuff and letting me know it makes sense and thanks to Flora for always tell me how OOC I am and keeping my ego in check.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Klaus punched him?" Elena asked from the passenger seat of Caroline's car.

It was Wednesday afternoon, Elena and Elijah had just landed and Caroline had offered to pick them up at the airport and bring them to Mystic Falls. It had been a busy day and a half for the formidable Ms. Forbes. Overnight she had become the world's newest, most interesting source of gossip. The backstabbing she-wolf who dated slept with her best friend's boyfriend behind her back. And now, the poor, broken-hearted Elena Gilbert was left to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart.

"Yeah," Caroline said, "he thought Tyler was the reason that the story was leaked. Which, I can't really blame him for, since I thought the same thing at first."

"I'm not surprise he punched him," Elena said, "it is Klaus we're talking about."

Caroline ignored the dig. She did kind of agree, but wouldn't admit it. She had been pretty angry with Klaus after the initial almost fight. They had argued in the parking lot, over Tyler and his swollen face, until they reached an impasse. Klaus was unwilling to admit that he was wrong and Caroline wasn't going to let him get away with over-reacting. He was lucky that there weren't any photographers around. Or worse…someone to call the police and have him arrested. She could only imagine the horror of having her sheriff mother arrest her famous boyfriend and the headlines that would ensure from that.

"Regardless," Caroline said, "he is being punished for acting like a caveman."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm withholding sex from him until further notice."

With that comment came Elijah's uncomfortable throat clearing from the back seat.

Caroline's eyes slid towards Elena and they exchanged knowing smiles, both suppressing the urge to laugh.

A short while later, they arrived at Elena's house. Klaus met them there and was waiting in the living room when they arrived. Elijah brought the bags in and greeted his brother.

"Hello Niklaus," Elijah said.

"Elijah."

Caroline could sense the tension between the two men as they all stood in Elena's living room.

"Glad you managed not to get into any more fist fights while Caroline was gone," Elijah said, smoothing down his tie and taking a seat in one of the easy chairs.

Klaus threw a look at Caroline and she shrugged innocently. "What? It's not like he wasn't going to find out."

"It's fortunate none of the photographers caught that special moment on film."

"Elijah why don't you go ahead and pull the stick out of your a—"

"Okaaaay," Caroline interrupted, "so now that we're all here we can finally figure out a game plan."

Klaus shut his mouth, still glaring at Elijah, who leaned forward and began to speak. Elena and Caroline sat down on the couch while Klaus chose the chair opposite Elijah's.

"Well the media is piecing together our original cover story, with the new details they've discovered about Caroline and Niklaus," he summarized, "they don't realize it's not half as illicit as it seems to be because, well, they have no other reason to."

"But we already began planting break up rumors and stories," Elena said, "can't we just make a statement that Klaus and Caroline started dating after a break up?"

"We could," Elijah agreed, "however the idea has been planted. Some will believe it and some won't."

Elijah looked over at Caroline. "Well it's probably the best we've got," she said.

"I still don't like it," Klaus said, "Caroline shouldn't be subjected to slander and gossip."

"That's very noble brother but unfortunately it's a risk she took when she chose to become involved with you."

Caroline watched Klaus's expression turn dark. She couldn't begin to guess what he was thinking as he slumped against the back of the chair. After a few moments of silence, an idea formed in his head and his posture straightened out again.

"We'll tell the press the truth. That the relationship was a hoax."

"Klaus no," Caroline said, "that will only make you look bad."

"It will make all of us look bad," Elijah remarked.

"So Caroline is the one who will be punished because of what we did?" Klaus said standing up from his chair and stalking toward Elijah. Caroline shot up and put herself in front of Klaus's path, placing her hands against his chest to discourage him from possibly punching his brother.

"I have an idea," Elena said after having been quiet for a while.

Caroline face perked up as she glanced down at Elena, keeping her hold on Klaus just in case. "What's your idea?"

"Hang on a second." Elena got up from the couch and left the room. Elijah, Klaus and Caroline waited there in silence for her to return, exchanging curious looks and shrugs, all trying to guess what she was thinking of doing. A few moments later she came back into the living room with an accomplished smile on her face.

"I called Jenna," Elena explained, "she's agreed to organize an informal press conference this evening."

"A press conference?" Caroline asked.

"Yep," Elena said, walking over and sitting on the arm of Elijah's chair, "I'm going to set the record straight."

"What are you going to say?"

"I can't tell you," Elena said, earning a confused look from her boyfriend. "Look you'll just have to trust me okay?"

Elena leaned forward and placed an innocent peck on his lips, before rising again and leaving the room before he could respond. Elijah blinked a few times in confusion, before realizing the slip of PDA, and becoming a tad flustered by Elena's kiss.

"Okay then," he said smoothing down his tie and clearing his throat.

* * *

It turned out "informal press conference" meant a call-in to one of these most popular radio shows in the entire country, hosted by one of the most famous celebrity reporters in the business. This guy had his own radio show, hosted a reality talent show, ran a web-blog and also anchored from time to time on the a entertainment news magazine show that appeared every evening. If there was a hot story in Hollywood, Bryan Glecrest was always the first to report.

And Elena had a call-in interview with him on his radio show in L.A. that very evening.

The Caroline-Klaus-Elena love triangle was about to get a great, big signal boost.

Elena sat alone in her bedroom, on hold with the radio station, while Caroline, Klaus, and Elijah tuned in downstairs in her living room. They had found an old boombox radio from high school cheerleading days in Elena's bedroom and set it up on the coffee table. Caroline was nervously biting at her thumbnail, waiting for the interview to begin. Klaus had been moody all afternoon, not at all keen on the idea of relying on Elena or not being told her plan. Elijah was doing his best to trust his girlfriend, but Caroline could see he was just as agitated as Klaus each time he adjusted the knot on his tie.

"Good afternoon everyone, and evening to all you East Coast listeners tuning in on XM channel 195. If you're just tuning in now I gotta tell ya…you picked an excellent time. In just a few moments I'll be talking to the one, the only, the incredibly lovely Elena Gilbert. Now as you all might have heard Elena has recently been involved with a real life love triangle, a scandal like this hasn't happened since the days of Brangelina. It seems that everyone out there has a different version of the story. Well I have Miss Gilbert on the phone right now and we'll be getting her exclusive story on all the rumors in just a few moments."

Bryan let the song play and Caroline shifted impatiently. She didn't know why she was so impatient to hear the news. It wasn't like she was experiencing it first hand or anything. But she had absolutely no idea what Elena was about to say on-air.

"Elena didn't even give you a hint as to what she's planning," Caroline asked Elijah.

He shook his head. "The most she would say is that she didn't want any of us to talk her out of it."

The song, which was only three minutes but seemed like it was a whole hour, ended and Bryan's voice was heard once again over the airwaves.

"Alright, so just a few moments ago I told you that we would be speaking to Elena Gilbert and I've got her here on the line now, Elena how are you today."

Caroline sucked in a breath as Elena's cheerful voice came over the air. "I'm doing great Bryan, how are you?"

"I'm great. It's been a long time since we've had a chance to chat."

"I know," Elena said, "I've been in Europe for most of the summer."

"That's right. And I heard that you've also suffered a bit of heartbreak during your travels?"

"Well Bryan that isn't exactly true…"

"Oh," Bryan returned sounding surprised, "well would you like to set the record straight?"

"I would," Elena said pausing for dramatic effect, "the truth is…my relationship with Niklaus Mikaelson…well the entire thing was a fake."

It was like the entire world went silent. Caroline swore her heart came to a complete stop. Even Bryan Glecrest who had heard and seen it all when it came to celeb drama had nothing to say to that. She looked to her left and right and saw matching faces of astonishment on each of the Mikaelson men's faces. Their hearts started beating again and they all exchanged surprised glances, turning their attention back to the radio when Elena continued to speak.

"As you know Bryan, dating in the celebrity world can be very tough. Relationships are something that should have the chance to be private. They are nobody's business except for the two people involved."

_Where in the hell was Elena going with this_? Caroline wondered.

"Yes that's very true," Bryan agreed, "privacy is an unfortunate casualty of fame. But you actually admitting on air that your very high profile romance was a fake?"

"I am Bryan. I feel very bad and I apologize to my fans for lying, but I hope they will give me a chance to explain. I did it with the best of intentions."

"Well I'm sure our listeners and your fans would be willing to hear what those intentions were."

"The truth is, Klaus and I pretended to have a relationship to cover up and draw media attention away from the real romance that has been happening over the summer. Between Klaus and my best friend, Caroline Forbes." Caroline's heart stopped again, hearing her own name on the radio. She vaguely heard Bryan Glecrest repeat it, asking if this was the same Caroline who had recently been outed in the magazines for going behind Elena's back. "Yes Bryan. Some very bad things have been sad about her, but none of them are true. Caroline was never at fault. She and Klaus met, became friends, but were concerned about media attention on their relationship. They wanted their privacy, especially Caroline. So we came up with this idea."

"Misdirection. I believe Siegfried and Roy came up with that one."

"Exactly Bryan. As you know, the paparazzi today can be incredibly intrusive. I simply wanted to protect my friend from any of that. As did Klaus."

"I completely understand," Bryan said once Elena had finished her story, "I'm sure our listeners can sympathize with wanting to look out for a friend."

"Thank you Bryan."

"No thank you Elena. It's good of you to come out and set the record straight," Bryan said, "and good luck with your new movie. You begin filming soon correct?"

"That's correct."

"Well we look forward to seeing it. Thanks so much for calling in."

Elena said goodbye and Bryan shifted gears, announcing the next song and upcoming traffic report at the top of the hour. Elijah reached forward and clicked off the radio. The three of them sat there in silence, staring vacantly at the silent radio.

Elena walked down her stairs, meeting three confused expressions in the living room. At first she had been proud of her plan. She knew that people like Bryan Glecrest set the tone for celebrity gossip; if she could get him on their side, then she could get everyone else. It wasn't a perfect alibi, but it was something. Her victorious smile fell a bit as she faced the rest of them.

"So…" Elena asked nervously. "Was that okay?"

"Now I know why you didn't tell me," Elijah said, walking over to stand next to her.

"I just thought that if we twisted the original story, it might look a tad bit better. I mean I know my fans will be mad and some people won't buy it either way, but it's worth a shot."

"Elena," Caroline said standing up from the couch, "I can't believe you just did that."

"You're my best friend Caroline. There's no way I was going to let you take the fall for all of this." Caroline smiled and the two girls hugged. "But, it's probably not going to fix everyone's opinion in Mystic Falls. They'll know that you were dating Tyler before you left for Europe."

"Yeah well after national media coverage, I'm sure I can handle a few snooty looks from anyone around here," Caroline said. "Give it a week and Vicki Donovan will do something crazy and everyone will forget all about me."

* * *

Later that evening, Klaus and Caroline strolled through the town square, hand in hand just as the sun was setting over Mystic Falls. They had grabbed dinner at The Grill and fortunately, everyone seemed to be paying the couple the same respect they paid Elena whenever she came to visit. Caroline suspected that maybe it was because the whole town was mad at her, but she was fully confident that all of that would blow over soon. It was the thing about small towns. A new source of gossip could always be counted upon.

"I'm glad you can finally see the town," Caroline said with a big smile, giving Klaus's hand a squeeze. "I mean I know it's not Prague or Venice or anything like that."

"No," Klaus said, "but it's nice enough. And I like being with you."

Klaus gave Caroline one of those heart stopping, dimpled smiles that had made her melt since the moment she met him.

Just then one of the photographers from the other day came up to them. Asking for pictures. Klaus was about to tell him to piss off, but Caroline grabbed his arm.

"Maybe just a couple. It's okay." Klaus nodded and put an arm around Caroline's waist, letting the photographer snap a few photos.

"Okay, that's enough," Klaus said after a few moments. The man nodded and smiled at Caroline.

"Thanks Miss Forbes, you're very kind."

"You're welcome," she said to him as Klaus led her away.

* * *

As they walked through the Klaus's front door, Caroline sat her purse down and kicked off her heels. Walking over to the leather couch and laying down. Klaus strolled behind her. He had been rather quiet for the latter half of the evening.

"I'm so full," Caroline said, "but I kinda wish we would have gotten dessert."

"What was that earlier?" Klaus asked joining her on the couch. He lifted up her legs and sat them down again on top of his lap.

Caroline cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"With the photographer…and letting him take pictures."

"Oh," Caroline said, "should I not have? I just didn't see the harm. He was very polite."

"I thought the idea was to keep our privacy."

"Well I mean I think that idea is a little far fetched now," Caroline said, "I'm not saying I want our faces plastered everywhere we look, but now that the world knows about us, it wouldn't hurt to have a picture or two of us actually looking happy."

"Are you happy?"

The rare note of vulnerability in Klaus's tone took Caroline aback. "Yeah I'm happy. I mean things aren't perfect. But I'm happy." Klaus's mouth lifted into a grin and Caroline sat up, pulling his face to hers and pressing their lips together. "I might be happier though if I had some cookies."

She started to get up but Klaus prevented her from moving, leaning over her and forcing her down onto the couch. "You are not going anywhere right now."

He kissed her again, forcing his tongue into her mouth, setting off tiny fireworks within her belly. Caroline pushed against his chest.

"No! No!" She said. "I'm with-holding sex from you."

"And why is that?" Klaus asked, curious and amused.

"Because you punched out Tyler, over-reacted, _wouldn't apologize_."

Klaus let her finish and then kissed her again for a few moments more before Caroline pushed him away.

Her eyebrows shot up. "Did you listen to anything I just said?"

"With-holding sex, love? Come now, that's such a relationship cliché."

"But effective," she said.

Klaus sighed. "Fine," he said placing a kiss on the top of her cheek and covering the rest of her face with kisses, "I promise to never again—_kiss_—punch Tyler Lockwood—_kiss_—in the Mystic Grill car park." He finished by capturing her lips once again.

"Hmmm," Caroline murmured, "don't think that I'm not smart enough to decipher the loop holes in that sentence."

"I know," Klaus smiled, "that's why I like you."

They were kissing again and soon the kissing became more heated. Klaus's hands were running up under Caroline's shirt and her hands were at his belt, the metal chinking together as she unbuckled it and slipped it from the loops. She tossed it onto the floor and Klaus leaned up, removing his shirt. Caroline took the opportunity to take off her own, as well as her pink bra.

He covered her again, his deep kiss forceful and hungry. Their hands varied between holding faces and clutching at each other's waists, unable to decide where to settle, wanting to be everywhere at once. Her breasts rubbed against his chest, her nipples tightening, the feel of her naked skin on his making his cock harden. He groaned and grinded his hips against hers, creating a frustrating amount of friction beneath their jeans. His lips left hers and trailed down her jaw and across her throat. He dotted wet kisses across her the creamy skin of her breasts, his tongue swirling around each nipple. Caroline threaded her fingers through his hair, letting her nails scrap at his scalp, her hips arching up as the need within her grew.

"Klaus," she breathed.

"Yes love?"

"I need you."

With a smirk, Klaus sat up, and unbuttoned her pants. He tugged down the zipper and slowly slid the denim down her legs, tossing the jeans onto the floor next to next their shirts. She laid on the couch in nothing but her underwear and Klaus traced a finger around the pink lace, teasing her, before removing those as well. The heat in his eyes was enough to make her squirm. Klaus had the most expressive eyes she had ever known. One smoldering look from him and she was completely undone.

He looked down at her for a moment, contemplating his next move, before running back to his room. Tonight he wanted to be as close to her as he could. He needed to feel her whole body against his, have her closer than close.

Klaus quickly removed his pants and sheathed himself with the condom he had retrieved from his room before settling himself between Caroline's welcoming thighs. He kissed her again, feeling her calf wrap around his back, her ankle stroking down his leg.

Caroline released a lusty groan when Klaus entered her, filling her up. Her legs wrapped around him as he began to move against her. The couch wasn't very big, it barely fit the two of them, but she felt like she couldn't be close enough to him at that moment. Her heart pounded in her chest and she wondered if Klaus could feel it too. It seemed unreal, the way he made her feel, how every touch was electric, every kiss something new, every movement filled with passion and desire Caroline swore she only read about in romance novels. Maybe this was it. That thing that people always said made the difference.

That L word.

No not like.

Or lust.

It was lo—

Before she could finish her thought, Klaus pulled her up, sitting back against the couch so that she straddled his lap. She began to ride him, his face pressed to her chest, their bodies moving together. Her thoughts left her then, as the pleasure started to cloud her mind and all she could think about was how good everything felt. His fingers dug into her hips, encouraging their motion, a guttural moan vibrating from his throat.

Caroline leaned down and captured his lips again, searing him with a kiss, hoping to make him feel even half the way she did whenever he kissed her. Klaus's hands left her hips, clutching at her head and holding her in place. His tongue swirled with hers and his fingers knotted in her hair. They separated with a loud, heavy gasp and Caroline began riding him faster, both of them racing now towards sweet release.

She cried out first, the sound of her coming like a sweet song in his ear, her orgasm flowing pulsing through her like a glorious beat. Klaus followed not moments after, his hands pressing into her flesh as his body jerked against hers. Caroline stayed in his lap, with him still inside of her, as the feelings subsided into warm bliss. They kissed each other tenderly, with murmurs of satisfaction and smiles.

* * *

**Apparently I'm all about redeeming moments in this fic. Tyler had his last chapter, and now Elena is having hers. Interpret it how you will. She's been bugging me on the show lately, so I wanted her to have a good friend moment here in fan fiction world. Besides, Elena tends to act on her own when it comes to protecting people and going along with her own plans that she thinks is best. Whether it is or not remains to be seen...**

**And remember how I said there was a special character making a reappearance soon. Next chapter guys! I had such a fun time writing her more (there's a clue!) so I hope you like it too.**

**Also, I hope you guys laughed at my Ryan Seacreast character. I like rhyming names. I think I'm funny. :p**

**follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


	16. Chapter 16

**Oh my gosh it's been like 3 WEEKS, right? Almost? Sincere apologies loyal and beautiful readers. Many reasons as to why it took so long including massive revisions, lack of confidence, busy life, and then getting sick this past week and rolling around in bed for a few days. However here I am with a hefty update I hope you all will enjoy.**

**I originally planned to double update (remember the old days, my old readers?) however this chapter is pretty long, as is the next one, and then the chapter after that is very short. And trust me, you'll probably want both of those chapters together. Good news though, you can expect another update super soon. Like, I'm talking within a day or two :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Caroline was having a lovely dream about a French beach and a naked Klaus when the loud ring of her cell phone woke her up. She moaned and grumbled, Klaus echoing her distaste by her side. They had only fallen asleep an hour or two before dawn-Klaus eager to break-in his apartment by ravaging Caroline on a variety of surfaces. She thought that without a job, she could enjoy a nice lie in with her boyfriend for a change, but whoever was trying to rouse her at an earlier hour had other plans.

She rolled over and grabbed her phone off the nightstand, answering it with a groggy hello.

"Caroline Forbes?"

"Yes, this is she."

"You're live on the air with Eric and Kathy on XL 101.1!"

Caroline rubbed at her eyes. "Huh?"

"We just wanted to know, what's it like dating Niklaus Mikaelson? Is it true about the whole cover up with Elena Gilbert? Will you two stay together now that the secret is out?"

Caroline sputtered for a moment before she felt the phone being lifted away from her. Klaus snatched it and pressed hard on the call end button before silencing it and tossing it away. She was barely awake enough to catch on to what was happening, but apparently Klaus had over heard the snippets of conversation.

"Bloody ingrates," he grumbled, falling back on the bed.

"What was that?" Caroline asked.

Klaus sighed, dragging his palm across his face. "We're going to have to get you a new phone number."

"What? Why?"

"Because someone has let it leak," Klaus said, "no doubt you'll be hounded by incessant radio stations and gossip journalists day and night until you acquire a new one."

"Damn it," Caroline said. She wondered if maybe it was a one-time thing, and Klaus was jumping the gun on her needing to change her number. However, when her phone lit up again on silent ring two more times, she thought maybe he might know what he was talking about.

Klaus looked over a Caroline, there eyes meeting, and the moment of bother melting away. She gave him a small smile.

"Good morning," she said, placing her hand on his cheek.

He reached up, threading his fingers through hers and returned her smile. "Morning."

"You know," Caroline's eyes flicked down and then back up again, "I was having the best dream just now…"

"Oh really?" Klaus replied. "Would you like to share with the class?"

"You. Me. Beach…" Caroline leaned forward to kiss him.

"A cliché, but a classic."

"Well," she smirked. "Someone once told me 'old tricks are the best tricks'."

Klaus gave her a rakish grin and she squealed as he threw his arm around her and rolled her over, crashing his lips into hers. Yes, this had been just like the dream. She cupped his face and kissed him, as his hands slid down her body still covered by the sheet.

Just then a loud, demanding knock sounded at Klaus's door. He groaned against Caroline's lips, and rolled away from her and out of bed.

"If that's Elijah I swear I'll kill him," he grumbled as he retrieved a pair of pants from the floor and put them on before answering the knock. Caroline heard the door squeak open and Klaus ask _what are you doing here_. Wanting to see who it was, she grabbed a pair of Klaus's boxers and a tshirt and put them on, heading out to the living room.

"Is it Elijah?" She asked coming into the room.

"No. Worse."

Caroline saw Klaus standing in the center of the room, between the living area and the kitchen. In front of him was a woman with thick curly hair, clad in skintight jeans, stiletto booted heals, and a purple top that revealed toned arms and a significant amount of cleavage. The woman smiled at Caroline, but the smile didn't look at all friendly.

"Um, who's this?" Caroline asked, not at all thrilled to see a very sexy woman knocking at her boyfriend's door so early in the morning.

"Caroline Forbes. Katherine Pierce."

Katherine sauntered forward, holding her hand out for Caroline to take. The woman moved like she was walking through jello, her hips swaying to and fro. She was polished and beautiful and Caroline wished like hell she wasn't wearing Klaus's baggy sleep clothes, with no makeup and unbrushed hair.

"Always a pleasure to meet one of Klaus's girls," Katherine said shaking Caroline's hand, "you are much prettier than his usual victims."

Caroline took the taunt in stride, flashing Katherine a friendly smile. Her usual policy when it came to mean girls was kill 'em with kindness.

"Alright Katherine, that's enough," Klaus frowned in their direction, shutting the door.

Katherine let go of Caroline's hand and made her way toward the kitchen, grabbing the coffee pot and making herself right at home.

"So how do you two know each other?" Caroline asked following her.

"Katherine used to be my PA. Now she works for my brother," Klaus replied.

"Yeah that's the short version of the story," Katherine said rummaging through the cabinets, "where are your coffee filters?"

"What exactly are you doing here?" Klaus asked, letting the full amount of his annoyance slip into his tone.

"Well I'm not going to hang around Elena Gilbert's house," Katherine said finding the filters and popping one into the coffee maker, "not exactly eager to be around Elijah and his perfect girlfriend. You understand?"

"I meant," Klaus said, the annoyance obvious in his tone, "what are you doing in Mystic Falls?"

"Obviously I'm here to help with the press," Katherine replied leaning up against the counter and facing them, "Elijah told me to come down here before filming started. Your dull as dishwater fake ex-girlfriend caused more problems than she fixed with the little stunt she pulled on the radio yesterday. Not that Elijah will ever admit that she did anything wrong."

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked from her seat on the barstool. She had been observing their back and forth silently.

"Here," Katherine said slipping her smart phone from her back pocket. Caroline was surprised with the tightness of her jeans that it even fit in there. Katherine tapped a few keys and then passed it to Caroline. On the screen was a website, with the photos that the photographer had taken of her and Klaus the previous night. She read the headline and skimmed over the article. It didn't sound too unforgiving. In fact, it sounded rather curious about who this "girl next door" was that seemed to have captured Klaus's heart.

"I don't see what's wrong," Caroline said passing the phone to Klaus.

"People only like seeing a happy couple for so long. They get bored," Katherine explained, "Secrets will start to come out in attempt to break the two of you up. Trust me, they'll build up your relationship as much as they can and then tear you down just as fast. You've made yourself a target of the press Caroline. At some point, they'll want to see your tears, not your smiles."

"That's _enough_ Katherine," Klaus said tossing the phone at her. She caught it in her arms and slipped it back into her pocket.

"I'm just being honest with your girlfriend Klaus," Katherine said turning to Caroline and flashing her a saccharine smile, "Caroline seems sweet and I'd hate to see her get hurt."

Klaus walked forward, his eyes narrowing at Katherine. "You can leave now."

She held her ground for a moment longer. "Fine," she shrugged, "only trying to help. Maybe you two should chat alone anyways. Reveal any other lingering secrets," she looked at Klaus meaningfully, "it's always nasty when the truth gets out."

Klaus followed her, slamming the door behind her as she left.

"What just happened?" Caroline asked when Klaus returned to the kitchen. The coffee pot beeped on the counter, the smell of espresso filling the air.

"That was Katherine, being the unremitting bitch she always is."

Caroline ducked her head, looking back up at him through her eyelashes. "Do you have history with her?"

She hated herself for asking, for letting her insecurity show. But she couldn't help asking after observing the animosity between the two of them not to mention Katherine's snide comment about the "short version" of the story. It was clear that relationship was born from something deeper than mere dislike. She focused on her fingers as she walked them across the surface of the counter, waiting for him to answer.

"My brother trusts Katherine, and she's clever and good at her job. But I've never liked her."

"That didn't really answer my question," she sighed her resting her chin in her hands.

"You know what they say about misery loving company," Klaus said coming around to her side of the counter and brushing the hair from her face, "that phrase was invented for people like Katherine. Don't let her spoil the morning."

"Okay," Caroline relented. She gave Klaus a half smile and straightened up. "I'm gonna go shower."

She slipped off her barstool and headed toward the bathroom. Klaus watched her go, keeping the soft smile on his face until she was out of sight. It dropped when he heard the water turn on and the sound of the shower door open and close. He would have to keep Katherine away from Caroline as much as possible. She would complicate things. It was obvious by her veiled threats that she was there purely to stir up trouble. Elijah was an even bigger fool than Klaus realized. He needed to have a talk with his brother.

* * *

Klaus was meeting Elijah for lunch, so Caroline took the opportunity to grab Elena for some girl time. They hadn't spent much time together since the summer, and even though they had cleared the air since then, they really hadn't hung out much since their fight back in London. It was ages ago. Too long, in Caroline's opinion. They decided to head out of Mystic Falls and over to the neighboring town for some lunch and a trip to the mall.

"So you met Katherine?" Elena asked as they strolled along the sidewalk of the strip mall, passing a cart with a variety of cheap and flashy jewelry and accessories.

"Yeah," Caroline said, "what a…"

"Psychotic bitch?" Elena offered.

"Not the words I would have chosen, but close enough," Caroline laughed. "I take it she was just as friendly to you has she was to me?"

"Even less so I'm sure."

"Why's that?"

Elena stopped at one of the carts, picking up a floppy black hat and trying it on. "Well she and Elijah used to date."

"Hold on," Caroline said, "what?"

Elena then launched into the brief story of how Katherine and Elijah had dated for a month when she first started working at his PR firm. Elijah had hesitated to become involved with someone he worked with, but eventually gave in. After they had ended things, Elijah had offered to let Katherine keep her job, noting that she was a good worker and that he would hate to loose her talents. Katherine agreed and stayed on and had been working at the PR firm ever since.

"Wow, that's so…mature. I don't think I could work with Tyler if I had to, no matter how awkward we promised not to be," Caroline said.

"That's just Elijah," Elena replied, "he's really good at separating work and personal stuff. Trust me, it took some getting used to."

"So I'm guessing it was a clean break then if they were so cool about everything."

"Umm yeah…" Elena replied. The hesitation caused Caroline to look up from the fedora she had been admiring. Elena was concentrating hard on not making eye contact with her.

"Okay. What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing," Elena said, "do you feel like frozen yogurt? Cause I have this huge craving."

Elena turned and walked away from the hat cart, avoiding eye contact. Caroline rushed after her. Now she _knew_ something was up.

"Elena Marie Gilbert you better spill this instant."

Elena stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and faced Caroline, whose raised eyebrows and wrinkled forehead said that she was about a half second from strangling the story out of her.

Elena sighed. "You promise not to freak out?"

"You asking me not to freak out is kind of freaking me out."

"The reason that Elijah ended things with Katherine," Elena said, "is because she slept with Klaus while they were together."

Caroline's felt her heart drop to her stomach. She swallowed, unsure of how to respond. Unsure of exactly how the revelation made her feel. "What happened?"

"Elijah caught them together one night at Katherine's apartment," Elena explained, "he said that Klaus and Katherine both said it had only happened that once. But once was enough for Elijah to completely cut off the relationship."

"Oh my god," Caroline said, her mind reeling, "how did he not completely kick Klaus's ass?"

"Not really Elijah's style. He said he was angry, for a very long time, but at the same time it was also his brother. You know they're family history…they're all each other has."

Caroline nodded, understanding that Elena was repeating Elijah's words and not her own opinion. If anything, Caroline knew that would only give Elena another reason to hate Klaus. Right now, she wasn't too happy with Klaus herself. She had just known in her gut that something was up with them earlier that morning.

Klaus slept with Katherine? _Katherine?_

Caroline wasn't naïve. Klaus had that reputation. She had been well aware of it. But Caroline also assumed that all the girls he had dated or fooled around with prior to her were girls that he no longer had any ties to. All one-night stands that were no longer in the picture, so she didn't need to worry. But Katherine was still around. Katherine who oozed sultry confidence and sex appeal. She wasn't just some faceless random girl Klaus had screwed, she had been Elijah's girlfriend. How could he have gone and done something like that? Elena was right, the Mikaelson sibling bond was important to Klaus; she knew that from the stories she had been told about their past. So why else would he risk it unless Katherine was someone important to him? Why else would they want to keep her around?

"You okay Care?" Elena said placing a hand on her arm.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Caroline said, making a bee line for the closest bench. She sat down, trying to breath and calm down.

"Look maybe I shouldn't have told you," Elena said sitting next to her.

Caroline let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah. Too late for that now."

* * *

"Elijah this is beyond stupid. You think Katherine is here for anything besides causing trouble?" Klaus yelled at Elijah.

Elijah had chosen for them to have a "working lunch" at Elena's house, knowing that he needed to meet with his brother to discuss his upcoming film and new publicized relationship without Caroline around.

"Hello? I'm right here. I can hear you talking." Katherine said from her seat at the other end of the dining table.

"Klaus I assure you, Katherine is here to do her job. If anything, we need her connections to keep Caroline out of the press as much as possible."

"Unless you want everyone in the world knowing about the former Miss Mystic Falls and how she used to pine after Elena's high school boyfriend too," Katherine said, "I'm sure the gossip columns would love to hear all about that."

Klaus glared at Katherine. The fact that Katherine already knew about that after being in Mystic Falls for less than a day was another reminder to both him and Elijah just how good she was at her job. Katherine was good at secrets. She always knew how to discover them and how to work them to her advantage. "Are you threatening me?"

"No," Elijah said holding his hand out, "what Katherine is trying to say is that if this press uncovers details like that, they can exploit them and undo everything Elena tried to fix with her radio interview."

"Which hurt more than it helped," Katherine mentioned for the second time that day, "seriously, if the little blonde beauty queen could have sucked it up, the press would have gotten over it. But like I told her, now they'll want to build you both up and see you fall. Right Elijah?"

Klaus shot a glance at his brother, who looked pained to admit that Katherine was in fact correct. "It would have been better if I had been able to deal with this, no matter how good Elena's intentions were."

"Exactly," Katherine smiled, "Elena fucked up."

Klaus stood up from his place at the dining table and paced the dining room, trying to dispel the urge to wrap his hands around her throat. Klaus could have a violent temper, his arrest records were proof of that, but hitting a woman was a line he had never crossed. "Well that simply brings me to my next point," he said, feeling like he held the ace, "Katherine, being the vindictive bitch that she is, will obviously spill all the dirty little secrets about the three of us and our history."

"Please Klaus," Katherine said, "don't flatter yourself. Like I would risk my job just to mess up your relationships."

He narrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't put it past you."

"It doesn't matter if she does have that intention," Elijah said, interrupting their bickering, "I've already told Elena the entire story."

"You what?!" Both Klaus and Katherine said at the same time. The two them stared at Elijah. His eyes slid knowingly from Katherine to Klaus. He wasn't as big of a fool as his brother seemed to think.

"I told Elena the story," Elijah said, "I find that honesty is usually a good policy in relationships."

Katherine was quiet then, sitting back in her chair and finishing her lunch. With one last bite of salad, she put down her fork and stood up.

"As fun as this has been," she said, "I'm going to see if there is a place to get a decent manicure in this godforsaken town. Call me if you need anyone else to hurl insults at."

She grabbed her purse from the back of her chair and strutted out the front door, leaving Klaus and Elijah alone in the dining room. Elijah ignored his brother's scowls, typing away at his laptop keyboard.

"What Niklaus? Speak."

"You know Elena will tell Caroline," Klaus said, "she loathes me. There is no way in hell she approves of our relationship."

"Well if she doesn't approve she hasn't mentioned it to me," Elijah said, "why don't you talk to Caroline? Take the high road."

"I can't do that," Klaus replied, "I've already dodged her questions about Katherine and our history together."

Elijah looked up at Klaus. "I suggest you backtrack. And tell her the truth. The sooner the better."

* * *

That evening, Klaus took Caroline to dinner across town to a tiny French bistro. He had no interest in being at the Mystic Grill, under the watchful eyes of the townsfolk. Fame garnered him no approval from these people. The restaurant he had discovered was tiny and charming and much more intimate. He also hoped it would lessen the tension that would result from the conversation they needed to have. They ordered wine and then food, mumbling short sentences to one another as their waiter came back and forth. Klaus kept trying to think of a way to begin, and the minutes ticked on.

On the opposite side of the table, Caroline wondered if she should confront him about Katherine. Hadn't she already once before though? That hadn't worked out so well, and if he evaded and lied to her again…

Between Klaus's apprehension and Caroline's irritation, neither one of them noticed that they hadn't been saying much of anything to one another throughout dinner. It was all short, clipped answers about their separate days. Klaus had gifted Caroline with her new phone and phone number, which Katherine had set up for them that afternoon. She thanked him and tried not to concentrate on how annoying it was to have to change it in the first place.

Dinner was finished and the check came and Klaus still hadn't come clean to Caroline. As they walked toward the parking lot he reached for Caroline's hand, but she flinched away. Klaus tried to ignore how much that action stung.

"Something the matter love?"

"No," she lied.

"You've been quiet tonight," he remarked, "did you have another fight with Elena?"

"No," she repeated as they reached her car, "in fact we had a really good talk today."

"Is that so?" Klaus followed her over to the passenger side, unlocking the door and opening it for her.

"Yeah. About Katherine. And how you slept with her while she was dating Elijah." Well there it was, the story was out. Klaus cursed, glancing away from Caroline. Elena had beaten him to the punch, just as he had feared, making everything a hundred times worse. "I'm trying very hard not to jump to conclusions, but you lying to me about it doesn't make it any easier."

"I didn't lie about anything," Klaus said.

Caroline scoffed. "I point blank asked you if you had history with her and you blew me off. That's as good as lying."

"Well it seems you got the full story from Elena so you don't need to hear it again from me." Klaus turned away, walking around to the driver's side of the car. Caroline didn't make any movement to step inside the car.

"So that's it? You're going to say nothing about this?"

"What do you want me to say?"

Caroline crossed her arms. "An apology would be nice, for starters."

"I have nothing to apologize for. Katherine has nothing to do with you sweetheart. What happened was long before I ever met you."

"Klaus how am I supposed to trust you when you lie to my face? I've been honest with you about Tyler. I even told you about Stefan."

"I never asked you to tell me any of that," Klaus replied, his voice rising, "just because you feel the need to tell me every detail of your past love life does not require me to reveal mine."

"It's called intimacy Klaus. It's what people in a relationship do."

They stood on opposite sides of the car, arguing with one another, not noticing that other restaurant patrons had started to gather in the parking lot and stopped to observe the drama unfolding before them. A few of them, recognizing Klaus, had pulled out cellphones and cameras and started taking video.

"Caroline, just get in the car," Klaus said, cutting a glance to their audience.

"No," she said stubbornly. It was childish and dumb, but at the moment she didn't care.

"Caroline…"

She let out a frustrated huff and slammed the door, spinning around and walking away. Klaus chased after her, following her across the street and nearly getting hit by a car in the process. The driver honked and yelled at him, but Klaus ignored it as he stumbled around the car after Caroline.

"Caroline! Stop!"

She spun on him then, her blonde curls whipping around. "Take a hint Klaus."

"You're acting like a child."

"So what if I am?" She shouted at him. Her eyes fell on the crowd behind him in the street that had followed to see the scene. She sighed, knowing that by the next day-hell by the next hour-their little spat would be all over the Internet. "Look, take the car home. I'll catch a cab."

Before he could protest, she spun away from him and headed further down the street.

* * *

Because cabs didn't frequent the roads in Mystic Falls the way they did in London or New York, Caroline was forced to call for one. Thirty minutes later it showed up a few blocks away from the bistro where she had parked herself on a bench. As she sat there, she realized how dumb and dramatic it had been for her to run away from Klaus and her own car. But when Caroline Forbes made a dramatic exit, she would stick to it at all costs.

The cab dropped her off at her house. She paid the driver and got out, walking to her front door and going inside.

"Hey, what are you doing home?" Her mother came out of the living room to greet her just as she sat her keys and purse on the table by the door.

"I _do_ live here." Caroline laughed, walking past her mother and into the living room. Liz had set up a movie and some popcorn in preparation for a relaxing evening at home. Caroline plopped down on the couch, grabbing a handful and scarfing it down.

"Well not lately since Klaus has come to town," Liz remarked, leaning against the doorway, "did you just take a cab home?"

"Yeah," Caroline said staring at the movie.

"Where's your car?"

"With Klaus."

"And why didn't he bring you home?"

"Cause he's a jerk."

Liz walked forward then. "He left you stranded without your car?"

"No," Caroline sighed, sensing her mother's protective hackles rising. "I left him with the car. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Liz nodded, walking closer to her daughter and taking a seat on the couch.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Caroline sighed. "Not really."

Liz didn't pester her any further. Instead she sat back and focused her attention on the movie while Caroline remained quiet beside her. After a while, Caroline released an exasperated groan, throwing her arms in the air.

"It's just so frustrating. I tell him everything about me and then I ask him about his past girlfriends and he just shuts me out. I think I have a right to know."

"Well sweetie, you don't have a right to know someone's past. It's a privilege."

"But when I ask him a question point blank, he shouldn't lie to me about it." Caroline tried to explain to her mom about her conversation with Klaus that morning that followed her meeting Katherine, and then her subsequent conversation with Elena. Liz nodded and listened while Caroline talked at a furious pace. When she was finished, Liz spoke up.

"I'm not a big fan of your relationship with Klaus," Liz said, "I worry that dating someone like him is a bit too much for you…but I have to be honest when I say that I think you may be overreacting."

Caroline gaped at her mother. "Overreacting?"

"Just a little," Liz said, "you're an open book Caroline, you always have been. You never shy away from welcoming people fully into your life, but not everyone is like that. It sounds to me that Klaus simply wasn't ready to tell you this morning about this part of his life."

"So he doesn't trust me?"

"No. But he might have been afraid of your judgment. It's difficult to come clean with people we care about sometimes, because their opinions matter to us more."

Caroline sighed again, realizing her mother's point. It made sense. Klaus had been forth coming in some areas of his past, but not in others. She remembered their brief conversation about his ex, Tatia, and how clammed up about that he had been. He wasn't an open book, like her mother said; he revealed things about himself in his own time.

"I'm going to make some cocoa," Liz stood up from the couch, "do you want some?"

"Sure." Caroline smiled.

She watched her mother leave the room. They had never been super close. Growing up, Caroline had always gone to her dad or Stephen for boy advice instead of her mom. But it seemed that Liz Forbes knew a thing or two. She resolved to talk to her mom more in the future.

A knock at her front door interrupted her thoughts and she lifted herself off the couch to answer it. Peeking around the doorway she saw Klaus through the front window, his hands clasped behind his back, waiting for her to answer. His face was blank, she didn't know if he was there to deliver the apology she had hoped for or if he was simply going to drop off her car and leave.

Steeling herself and remembering her mother's words, she walked toward the door and opened it.

"You didn't come home," Klaus said, "I worried."

"This is my home," she replied, missing the twitch of his eye when she said it.

"I brought back your car."

"Thanks."

They stood in silence, staring at one another. Caroline remained in the doorway, her hand on the door, not blocking Klaus from coming inside. Even though she believed what her mother said, and was beginning to understand, she still felt hurt.

"I want you to know that I didn't tell you about Katherine because she's not important to me," Klaus said, "just another past mistake that I've tried to move on from."

Caroline nodded. It wasn't an apology, but it was something. "I understand. I wish you would have been honest with me when I asked you though." Her eyes flicked down to his shoes before meeting his again. "You can tell me things, you know. When have you ever told me something about yourself that I've judge you for?"

"Never," Klaus replied, letting her know that during their time apart, he had also come to this conclusion. He stepped forward and lifted his hands to cup her face. "Come home with me?"

Caroline let out a breath that was somewhere between a sigh and a laugh, closing her eyes. She opened them again, the intensity of his gaze melting her resolve.

"Do you always have to be so…"

"Charming?" He grinned.

"Infuriatingly so." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. "Let me just go say goodbye to my mom."

Klaus nodded and let her go, choosing to wait on her porch. Caroline found her mom in the kitchen, warming up milk on the stove.

"Hey mom, cool if we take a rain check on cocoa? I'm gonna go over to Klaus's."

"I heard," her mom said, "no problem. We'll do cocoa another night."

Liz gave her daughter a hug, squeezing her tight. "I do mean what I said though. Be careful with him. It's not just the bad boy thing I'm worried about, it's the fame thing. All the publicity. I don't want you getting in over your head."

"Don't worry mom," Caroline said, "I can handle it. Klaus won't let anything bad happen. We'll be fine."

With that Caroline went to her room, grabbing a fresh change of clothes and some other provisions. She met Klaus on the porch, this time taking his outstretched hand for reassurance as they walked out to the car.

* * *

Klaus wrapped his arms around Caroline, pulling her tight against his chest as they spooned together in bed. His room was dark, except for the few small white candles that Caroline had lit. Soft music played from the stereo on the dresser. He buried his face in her curls, inhaling her familiar scent of vanilla and warmth. Caroline sighed in contentment. Most of her worries were gone now. Klaus had told her about Katherine, and the story didn't deviate too much from the one she had already heard from Elena. Still, it was reassuring to hear his version.

She could hear the remorse in his voice when he spoke of it and read between the lines. Klaus had been self-destructive back then, with the booze and the drugs, that part she already knew. But with Katherine, the tendencies pushed even further. Not having any sisters of her own, she couldn't imagine what she would do if she caught one with someone she was dating. She couldn't imagine handling it the way Elijah had, choosing to honor his family even when Klaus didn't. It made her respect Elijah even more for seeing through Klaus's well-hidden insecurities. But it was obvious Elijah's forgiveness and judgment had paid off. Klaus wasn't that person anymore. At least not to Caroline.

Klaus didn't show it often, but he was capable of goodness and kindness, and of over-coming the selfish, spoiled persona he had crafted for himself. She'd caught glimpses of it the more she had gotten to know him in Europe. Seeing that side was the reason she had started to fall for him. She knew that even if he didn't always thinks so, Klaus was worth all of the second chances.

"Can I ask you something?" Caroline said.

"You just did," Klaus teased, running his hand across her body. Caroline shivered under his touch.

"Okay something else," she rolled over, turning to face him. They were very close, their noses almost touching and Klaus's arm still around her waist. "If you had the chance to live a normal life, and not be Niklaus Mikaelson Rock Star would you do it?"

Klaus chuckled, reaching up and pushing one of her curls behind her ear. "Now why would I want to give up the throngs of adoring fans, the money, the opportunity, and the fame hmm?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "You're telling me there isn't one time where you thought about walking away from it all? About living a regular life? Having a normal job and a house and kids and stuff?"

"There isn't much point in thinking about it," Klaus replied, "it's not something that is realistic for me now." He kissed her, trying to let her know that he wasn't being evasive on purpose, but that he really didn't spend much time thinking about how things could be different. In spite of the fact that he didn't much care for being a musician, he liked his life the way it was. Things were much better now than they had been before the success and fame. "What about you? What do you want out of life?"

Caroline thought for a moment, her mouth twisting to the side. "Travel more, I guess. See the world. Find a career. Fall in love, get married, have 2.5 kids and a nice house and grandkids and be blissfully happy."

Klaus chuckled. "So you're not asking for much then."

"Not at all," she giggled. "I guess I just want the things most people want." She looked down at his chest, absently tracing circles on his skin in the small space between them. She tried not to think about where he might fit into all of that, and where she might fit into his future. It was too soon. Too scary.

He sensed the tension then and kissed her; their bodies reconnecting, distracting her from her thoughts. Klaus was distracting himself too, trying to shut off his emotions and just be with her. But it was becoming increasingly hard to separate the desire he had always felt for her with the other feelings—of the more long term variety-that were beginning to creep in.

* * *

The next day Caroline sat outside of the Grill enjoying a glass of sweet tea and skimming through the local want ads. As nice as it was sleeping in with Klaus everyday and relaxing, filming would start soon which meant he would be busy and she would be bored. She needed something to do. She needed a job, other than just being Klaus's girlfriend.

"I'm sure I could find you a job on set," Klaus had suggested as they got dressed that morning.

"Thanks but, I should probably be looking for something more permanent," Caroline had told him. Plus, she had no idea what she would be doing on a film set. She didn't think it would be a good place for her to work.

She chewed at the end of her red pen as she scanned the ads in the newspaper, unaware that she was being watched.

"You always look cute when you think too hard," Caroline looked up to see Tyler standing near her, "you always get those little wrinkles between your eyebrows."

"I do not get wrinkles," Caroline said, holding out her hand for Tyler to take a seat. She grimaced, noticing the black and blue bruising on his face, courtesy of Klaus. "That looks bad."

"Tell me about it," Tyler said, "my mom freaked. You're lucky she bought the boxing gym accident story I gave her." Caroline gave him a grateful smile. She was very glad that Tyler had chosen to cover for Klaus, instead of pressing assault charges. He had absolutely no reason to do him any favors, which deep down showed what a good guy he could be. "What with the newspaper?"

"Looking for jobs," Caroline said, circling one that seemed halfway promising.

"People still use the newspaper for that?"

She gave him a sour look. "Shut up."

"I could talk to my dad if you want, get him to give you your old job back." He had that guilty look on his face. Caroline knew that he was regretting having jumped the gun on getting back at her for their breakup.

"No it's fine," Caroline said, "he was right. I should move on. Use my talents elsewhere. Although I'm not sure where elsewhere might be yet."

"Yeah I didn't think you'd wanna stick around here after the break up."

Caroline gave Tyler a confused look. It was a blunt statement. Sure she had thought things would be weird between them, and the fight in the parking lot probably hadn't helped things, but it was easy conversation like the one they were just having that made her think everything was going to be okay. Now she was confused again. Did Tyler hope she would leave? Well if he thought he could push her out—

"I mean since Klaus is filming here and going to be around."

"Wait, what?" Caroline asked. She was missing something.

"Now that you two broke up," Tyler said, realizing the mistake a moment later. "I'm guessing that story was fake." In answer to Caroline's confused look, he pulled out his phone and tapped at the screen. "Someone sent me the link to this YouTube video. Here."

He passed the phone to her and she watched as the video played on screen. It was a crappy cell phone capture of her and Klaus and their fight outside the restaurant the night before. Most of their conversation was too low for where the person filming had stood, but whoever had posted it was kind enough to provide the viewers with their own commentary about the fight.

"We had a fight, we didn't break up," Caroline said as she watched, "not that it's anyone's business." She scrolled down the comments of the video a few of them catching her eye.

_What a slut. He's too hot for her anyways._

_ I never thought this would last long._

_ I can't stand this girl. You can do better Niklaus!_

_ From what I heard about her, she sounds like a gold digger. Hopefully he finally figured it out._

"You okay?" Tyler asked. Caroline looked up, handing his phone back to him.

"Yeah," she said half heartedly, "I mean you can't listen to people on the internet."

Tyler nodded, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

"Hi Caroline?" A short, stocky blonde woman with a choppy a-symmetrical haircut approached their table. Neither Caroline nor Tyler recognized her.

"Um, yeah?"

"I just wanted to get your comments on your recent breakup with Niklaus Mikaelson. It seems like everything has happened so fast, don't you think you should have your turn to say something?" The woman was waving someone over as she spoke. Caroline turned around, only to be blinded by the flash of a camera.

"Actually I don't. We aren't broken up," Caroline said, "and this isn't really a good time, if you wouldn't mind—"

"We saw the video online last night…what were you two fighting about?"

Caroline began to gather her things, leaning far away from the intrusive woman who continued to invade her space and prod her with questions.

"Hey lady," Tyler snapped, "she's not answering your questions. So why don't you get the hell out of here."

"No Tyler. It's okay." Caroline held out her hand to stop him, not wanting to cause a scene. Him getting mad wouldn't do them any favors.

"And who is this?" The woman asked becoming very interested in Caroline's protector.

"I'm her ex boyfriend."

Caroline groaned, covering her face with her hand as the camera shutter began to click over even more wildly than before. It was the absolute worst possible thing Tyler could have said. The woman's eyes lit up with excitement as the plot cooking in her mind began to thicken.

She shouldered her bag, telling Tyler that she would call him later. The woman seemed to debate with herself for a moment, before resolving to follow Caroline all the way to her car. She was still shouting questions and the man was still snapping pictures as Caroline sped away. Instead of driving straight to Klaus's, she circled around town for a while, just in case she was being followed. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she didn't want to take any chances.

Using the key that Klaus had given her, she let herself inside his apartment, finding him set up with a small easel and some paints that he had purchased from an art supplies store the week before. It wasn't anything too extravagant, just something to pass the time. Caroline had actually been happy that he felt like painting again, since she knew deep down it made him happy too.

"What's the matter love? You look a bit flustered," Klaus asked, setting down the brush in his hand.

"Did you hear we broke up?" She asked walking over to him and straight into his arms.

"Elijah mentioned something about that," Klaus said hugging her. Caroline sighed into his chest. "I suppose the backlash has started already. Katherine is releasing a statement and contacting the website about having the video removed."

"It's fine," Caroline said, "annoying but fine." She closed her eyes, letting Klaus hold her, breathing in the smell of cologne that clung to his t-shirt, combine with the hint of linseed oil from the paints.

"Was there something else troubling you?"

"Just some dumb comments people made on the video," Caroline said trying to play off how much it bothered her.

"What kind of comments?"

"Jealous fan-girl type comments."

"Caroline look at me," Klaus put his hands around her face, forcing her to look at him, "you're extraordinary. Don't listen to what ignorant people say about you."

"Is that what you do? Just ignore it?"

"I stopped caring about what other people thought a long time ago," he pressed a kiss to her forehead and she smiled. "Trust me. The world will move on from us. Soon you will be yesterday's news. Old and boring."

"Hey!" She gave him a playful shove in response to the dig, returning his laugh. Caroline knew that dating Klaus would come with its own source of infamy. She had thought she could handle it. Klaus and Elena always made it seem so effortless. Now that she was getting a taste of it herself though, she wasn't so sure. She wasn't like Klaus. She couldn't easily wave off the opinions of others. How she looked and presented herself was very important to her. The idea that people thought bad things about her or hated her for no reason was one thing; knowing it was a fact that was something else.

As Klaus led her over to his easel to show her his new painting, she gave him an encouraging smile, secretly hoping that he would be right about the short attention span of the public.

* * *

**So congrats to all of you who guessed that Katherine was the character making their return in this fic! I love writing her!**

**p.s. all those fan girl comments are ACTUAL comments I read on youtube videos of celeb couples. I went researching and wow! people say some heinous things about strangers! I certainly hope none of you do that ;)**

**The conversation about having a "regular life" between Caroline and Klaus was meant to mirror the convo they had in 4x07, when she asked Klaus if he would ever take the vampire cure. I just like throwing in things from TVD when I can and subtly adapting them to my AU world.**

**Also, to any of you who might feel a bit prickled over the Klaus/Elijah/Katherine history. You'll find out even more about that later.**

**review and let me know what you think.**

**follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


	17. Chapter 17

**Told you guys I'd be back with a quick update. And it's a double update, so lots to read :)**

**The next couple chapters were difficult for me to write. They got rewritten and switch around, and moments and dialogue was added and/or changed again and again. As I usually do with my fanfics, I try to experiment and if things don't work, they don't work. I just need to let it go and let you guys decide. I always try to do the best I can.**

**So...I won't say anything else until the end of the next chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

**p.s. Apologies for horrid spelling/grammar as usual. May be even worse now because I'm a still suffering from sickness.**

* * *

Klaus was wrong. Things didn't get better. In fact, they got worse.

It seemed the world was rather taken in by the endless amount of rumors surrounding Klaus and Caroline's relationship. Everyday for two weeks it was a constant back and forth between things going well and things going wrong. Every entertainment gossip website, blogger, and news show were all trying to out do one another with rumors and stories from love triangles between him, Caroline, and Elena to a few stories with Tyler thrown into the mix. Of course having a town full of gossiping southern ladies and people like Vickie Donovan willing to say a few bad things in exchange for some cash, it wasn't hard for them to dig up dirt.

Klaus could ignore it, like he had told Caroline. He was no stranger to having a poor reputation in the media, but it was taking a toll on Caroline. He could see it. For the first time, he felt powerless to change. No matter what he said or did, it didn't change the fact that Caroline was suffering the brunt of the media craze. He'd catch her glancing over web blogs when she thought he wasn't looking, the hurt of the internet's words reflected in her usually bright blue eyes. He saw the way the people around town treated her, with their judgmental looks, and how she made a pointed effort to keep her chin up. Things weren't turning out how either of them planned.

To make matters even worse, Elijah had just received a call from the films producers. As it turned out, they had changed their minds once again and decided not to use Mystic Falls for their filming location. It seemed they were put off by the fact that so many paparazzi had begun to swarm the quiet town. The constant media attention wouldn't be great for filming.

It wasn't just the studios that was bulking over the attention, the entire town was also angry at having their peace disrupted. Rabid reporters were hounding citizens for details about Caroline. Paparazzi lurked in public places waiting to catch a glimpse of a celebrity. Both Klaus and Elena's press teams had been suffering pressure from Mystic Falls to get their town back to normal. They wanted the celebrities and their hangers-on out and their quaint, peaceful lifestyle returned to them.

Klaus, Elena, and Elijah sat around Elena's dining table, having just ended the conference call in which they received the official news about the location move from the studio executives. The disappointment from Elena was palpable. She had been looking forward to being close to home while filming. But now, they were due in Portland in just a few days for filming. The studio had made the change a while ago, but had waited until the last minute to inform the film's stars.

"It's a manipulative move," Elijah said, frustrated at the mistreatment.

Klaus, who seemed the least annoyed, waved it off. "What's done is done Elijah. Here, Portland it makes no difference to me."

He could see the silver lining the location change. It was clear Mystic Falls wasn't working. He was rather relieved to now have an excuse to leave the pathetic town behind. Not to mention, it would no doubt cheer Caroline up to know that she would no longer have to be subjected to the Mystic Falls small minded denizens.

Elena's eyebrows shot up. "It makes no difference to you?"

"No love," Klaus replied with a sour smirk, "it doesn't."

"So you don't care that you and Caroline will be separated again?"

Klaus scoffed. "She'll be coming with us."

"Are you serious?" Elena retorted. "Caroline has a life you know, she doesn't just exist to be your girlfriend and follow you around. You can't treat her like that."

"Well last I checked love, she has no job, no home of her own here, most of her friends are living in separate cities. What exactly does she have tying her to Mystic Falls?"

"Wow." Elena blinked in disbelief.

Klaus replayed the words he had just said in his head; they were harsh but true. Of course Caroline would want to come with him to Portland. He had become accustomed to having her around and was in no rush to go back to the arrangement that had been in place over the latter half of the summer.

"Perhaps when you ask her to come across the country with us, you shouldn't put it quite like that," Elijah interjected.

Klaus spared Elijah a glance, turning his attention back to Elena. "I believe I remember someone else in this room asking her to drop her boyfriend, job, and very busy life just to tag along with them across Europe so they wouldn't have to deal with me alone. Perhaps you should consider that before you go around making accusations."

Elena bulked at the criticism. "Fine," she said, "tell Caroline about going to Portland and let her decide."

"Fine," Klaus returned, more than willing to let the issue drop.

"Is that what you really want for Caroline? You don't want her to be able to be her own person? Are you planning to see this relationship through? Because if not—"

Now Klaus was getting annoyed. "My relationship with Caroline is none of your business."

"Wrong. It _is_ my business because Caroline's my friend and I don't want you hurting her and screwing up her life."

Elijah cleared his throat, breaking through some of the tension that had begun to build between Elena and Klaus. "I think it's best to let Caroline decide what she would like to do. There's no reason this relationship has to end because of a change in plans."

Klaus saw Elijah's eyes waver toward Elena, knowing that his brother was in a similar position…or would be one day. Elijah wouldn't be able to stay by Elena's side during filming, he would need to go back to L.A. to attend to his other clients and keep the business running. Not to mention that Elena would continue to lead a jet set life. Her career was on the up and up; with that kind of momentum, it would be stupid for her to take a break now.

Klaus was similar to Elena in that aspect. He couldn't risk giving up everything that he worked for now, just for Caroline. If the movie worked out like he hoped, more offers would come in, and he would continue to be busy. He also had no desire to stay in Mystic Falls any longer than necessary. Since he wasn't ready to let Caroline go, the only solution he could see to their predicament was for her to come with him to Portland.

"Klaus I have to ask," Elijah said once Elena was gone, "what are your intentions with Caroline?"

Klaus let out a laugh. "You sound positively Victorian Elijah." Elijah was giving him a look that said the question was serious, and he wouldn't get out of answering it. "I like her. I like her company. I want her to be around."

"You like her," Elijah repeated. "You want her to be around. For how long? Until you grow tired of her? Find someone else more appealing?"

"Why don't you just make your point Elijah."

"Do you love her?"

Klaus's head snapped toward his brother. "What?"

"It's a simple question Niklaus."

"It's not _that_ simple Elijah."

"Do you love Elena?"

"Yes."

Klaus stopped. He studied his brother for a moment, noting the sincerity of his eyes and the way he had given his answer. _Yes_. Without a hint of thought or hesitation. Like he knew it was fact, the way someone new that the grass was green and the sky was blue.

"Elena Gilbert?" Klaus questioned. "I can't imagine why."

"She's intelligent," Elijah replied, "she's kind and loyal to her those she cares about, she's serious but surprising...she makes me laugh…" Elijah had a romantic gleam in his eye as he listed Elena's qualities; attributes that Klaus had never seen in the woman. Klaus couldn't recall a time when he had ever seen Elijah have that sort of reaction toward a woman. Elijah hadn't been the womanizer that Klaus was, but he'd had a few relationships with varying degrees of seriousness. But Elijah always seemed to be more passionate about his work than he was about his women.

"To each his own," Klaus said with a shrug.

The older man let out a sigh. "Very well. My advice is to you figure it out soon. Caroline Forbes is not one of your groupies Klaus, she's a good woman. She deserves to be treated right."

"Do I not treat her well? I'm offering her the world, the chance to accompany me and see things no one else will. I shower her with presents, with attention…I don't understand what love has to do with any of it."

Klaus turned away from Elijah then, hoping that his brother would take the hint. The conversation was over; he had no desire to discuss or examine his feelings for Caroline any further. "As I said, I hope you figure it out soon brother."

* * *

"No Mrs. Fell I completely understand," Caroline spoke into her cell phone, "I'm really sorry. I wish I could make it up to you…okay. Take care."

Caroline shoulders slumped as she sat her phone down on the counter next to her. She was seated on one of the barstools in Klaus's kitchen, laptop in front of her, trying to get some work done. Mrs. Fell had just called to tell her that she would no longer need her babysitting services for the twins. Apparently the Fells didn't take too kindly to their front lawn being invaded by the _stalkerazzi_, as Caroline had started calling the annoying photographers that were magically appearing every time she left the house.

If was baffling, the way that the paparazzi had shown up every single place she went for the past two weeks. At the grocery store, at the gym, lunch at her mom's house-they had even crashed the two times she and Klaus had attempted to go out for dinner. Now she had lost the only job in town she could seem to find. The nosy media people were making her life a living hell. But, with head held high, she persevered. Klaus kept telling her that things would die down and she was doing her best to trust his judgment and mimic his cool attitude.

Her phone rang again, distracting her from her inner complaining, and she checked the caller ID before answering.

"Hey Stephen…I'm good. How are you?"

Caroline wasn't alone at Klaus's apartment. While she sat at the kitchen counter working and browsing the internet, Katherine reclined across the leather couch doing the same. That was another thing Caroline had become used to over the past couple of weeks…Katherine's constant joyful presence. Apparently her time in Mystic Falls relegated her to Klaus PA duty as well as press control, although considering how much Caroline was getting bugged, she didn't think that Katherine was doing a great job at the latter.

"Oh my gosh are you serious?" Caroline squealed into the phone. Katherine snuck a peek at the blonde, dragging her eyes away from her laptop. "No I mean I'll have to figure things about with mom and Klaus but my answer is yes yes yes!...Okay, email me the details."

Caroline hung up the phone, beaming and humming as she began to tap away at her computer. Katherine laid aside her laptop and hopped over the couch, sauntering over to where Caroline sat.

"What are you so cheery about?" Katherine asked, in her usual flat tone.

Caroline glanced up at her. She had made an effort to be nice to Katherine since she had been hanging around, in spite of Katherine's constant state of bitchy-ness. She wouldn't let the brunette drag her down into her misery spiral.

"I just got offered a job," Caroline said, "well sort of."

"What kind of a job?"

"Writing a travel blog for a magazine in Chicago."

"How did you land a job like that?"

Caroline bulked at the tone of her voice. As if Caroline couldn't get job writing for a magazine. She had written for both the Mystic Falls High Chronicle and yearbook when she was in high school, not to mention the press releases she crafted when she was still working at the mayor's office. Caroline could write, she had just never considered doing it as a job before. That was until she had been chatting on the phone with her dad and Stephen, hearing yet another go back to school encouragement lecture from her father. She'd made on offhand comment that she had been interested in journalism, which prompted her father to prompt Stephen to check his contacts and find out if he could find an internship for her at a newspaper. Two days later, Stephen had called back and said that one of his contacts was looking for a travel blogger and since she had some travel experience she could have a chance at the job. All she had to do was start a blog so they could see a sample of her writing, which she had been keeping up with religiously over the past two weeks. Stephen had just called to tell her that the editors loved her writing, and thought her voice was very insightful and funny, they wanted to meet with her in Chicago soon to discuss hiring her on a freelance basis.

It was too perfect. She would have a career and get to travel; two things that were very high on Caroline's list of goals at the moment.

Of course, she didn't want to admit to Katherine that she didn't snag the job solely on her own merits, so she left out the part about Stephen being her dad's partner.

As she finished explaining the story, her email alert dinged, and she opened her mail to see a new message Stephen had forwarded from the magazine explaining all the details of the job.

"Oh," Caroline frowned reading it over, "hmm."

"What is it?" Katherine asked.

"I guess they are thinking about doing it video blog style. They want me to make a video diary and send it to them as an audition. I've never done anything like that before."

"How hard can it be to sit in front of a camera and talk about your life like other people care? Losers on YouTube do it all the time."

Caroline ignored her and continued to read. "Well I have a couple days to figure it out."

As she finished reading Caroline's stomach began to growl, letting her know it was past time for lunch. It had been almost two days since she had been anywhere besides Klaus's apartment, so she decided she was going to take her chances and go out to the Grill. Maybe Matt was working; he could always fend off the stalkerazzi if needed. "I'm gonna go grab some lunch. Want anything?"

"Greasy country food filled with processed chemicals?" Katherine frowned. "I'll pass."

Caroline gave her a discreet once over. Katherine's clothes always clung to her body like she was poured into them every morning. Her body was the product of a very strict, no fat, and all organic diet. Caroline figured if missing out on extra cheese nacho fries at the Grill every once in a while was what it took to look like that well…she'd take the fries thank you very much. Maybe the lack of processed foods was why Katherine was so moody all the time.

With a shrug and a smile, Caroline grabbed her purse and headed out to lunch.

The Grill wasn't too crowded when Caroline arrived, and she didn't notice anyone following her around. Maybe the stalkers were finally starting to back off. She took a seat at the bar and Matt—who was in fact working that day—greeted her and passed her a menu. She sat there, sipping a diet soda and scanning the menu, debating on whether she wanted a burger or a chicken Caesar salad, when someone called her name.

"Caroline Forbes, isn't it a little early to be hitting the bar?"

Caroline groaned and spun in the barstool. Just perfect. She couldn't get an hour to do something as simple has have lunch without it being twisted and speculated about. It just wasn't—

"Oh my god! Stefan?" The handsome, dark haired guy who had called her attention flashed her a grin. Caroline hopped down off the bar stool and wrapped her arms around his neck giving him a giant squeeze. "What are you even doing here? It's been like—"

"Four years. Yeah, I know," Stefan finished for her, "I just came back to take care of some business. Visit my dad. He's thinking of turning the boarding house back into an actual boarding house."

Caroline recalled many nights in high school spent at the Salvatore boarding house. Whenever Stefan's father was away, he always opened his house to the best and biggest parties Mystic Falls High had ever seen. The Salvatore Boarding house was—in a word—_huge_. It had seven bedrooms, en suite bathrooms, a library, a gigantic living room, fully loaded kitchen, a dining hall…

"Wow, that's a lot of work," Caroline said.

"It's why he wanted my opinion on things. Damon could care less." She nodded, detecting a hint of irritation in his tone. She remembered Elena's story about herself and the two of them and realized there was probably still some animosity between the two brothers. They had never gotten along great in the first place.

"What are you up to now? Wanna join me for lunch?" Caroline asked indicating the empty seat next to her.

"I'd love to," Stefan said taking the seat. Matt came over and said hello, taking Stefan's drink order and their food orders. Caroline couldn't believe how much more handsome Stefan had grown over the past four years. It was unbelievable that the cute boy she had crushed on in high school could have grown up to be an even more attractive man. Sure she had seen photos of him online because of his relationship with Elena, but it was different seeing him in person. He looked more mature than he had when they had last seen each other. His jaw was more defined and that wide, friendly grin she had fallen for as a teenager had seemed to retain its gleaming, white perfection.

"So what have you been up to for the past four years Salvatore?" She tried her best not to allude to his break-up with Elena, not knowing how he felt about it.

"I moved to Chicago about a year ago. Finally finishing up school at Northwestern."

"Shut up," Caroline exclaimed, "I just spent half the summer with my dad in Chicago! How did we miss each other?"

Stefan chuckled. "Well it's a big city."

"I might actually be going back soon," Caroline told him, anxious to share her good news with someone. "I just got a lead on a job there."

"That sounds great," Stefan replied, "we'll have to get together for drinks. I can introduce you to my girlfriend."

Caroline smiled. Girlfriend huh? So maybe he was moved on from Elena after all. She noticed a slight sparkle in his eye when he mentioned her. "That sounds nice."

"Yeah, she's great. I think you two would get along. She actually reminded me a lot of you when we first met."

"Well then I'm sure she's fabulous. Especially if _you_ like her."

"She keeps me out of trouble," Stefan replied with a smile and a shrug.

They were interrupted a short time later, when Matt brought them their lunches.

"So," Stefan said, "you seemed a little irritated at the idea of someone disrupting your lunch?"

"Oh yeah," Caroline waved a hand in the air, "I thought you were another stalkerazzi."

"Stalkerazzi?"

"Yeah, you know…all those annoying people with cameras constantly in your face."

"Ah yes," Stefan nodded. Of course he already knew about her and Klaus. He'd have to be living under a rock not to have known. "I don't miss those days."

Caroline took a bite of her chicken wrap, which she had concluded was somewhere between a burger and a salad on the health scale. "I don't know how you did it. I mean honestly, I never thought it would be like this. We never get any privacy and it seems like every other day there's some new story being revealed about one or the both of us."

"It's not fun."

"It's sucks," Caroline said, she chewed thoughtfully for a few moments before speaking again, "Look I don't want to bring this up but…"

"You wanna know about me and Elena and how I dealt with the side effects of the fame all that time."

Caroline gave him a guilty smile. "Yeah."

"It was easier when we were in love. When we really cared about each other. The love made all the hard stuff worth it. But that started to fade," Stefan sighed, "just like any normal couple I suppose we began to distract ourselves with other things instead of just admitting that it wasn't working. We both tried to pull each other in opposite directions. Neither of us wanted to end it though and face the agony of a public breakup." Caroline gulped, thinking that Stefan was finished, but he continued. "It got to be too hard. The constant travel. The missed events. I was always hearing things about her from the media before she ever told me, it drove me insane. We were in different places and we began to resent each other because of it."

"I'm sorry," Caroline offered. It was different, hearing Stefan's side of the story. It was like hearing about an entirely different relationship. Elena had admitted to falling out of love, just like Stefan had, but she had sited feelings for Damon as a trigger for their break-up. It was clear that Stefan blamed her career and the hardships of fame as the culprit of their romantic demise.

"Wow," Stefan chuckled, "you just got really quiet."

"Sorry," Caroline repeated, taking another bite of food.

"Look Caroline, I don't know Klaus on a personal level and I'm not saying this kind of relationship isn't worth it, but there is a certain amount of sacrifice. It's hard to lead separate lives, especially in the limelight. It takes a lot out of a person. It's just better to decide before you're in too deep."

The words were ominous and slightly dramatic, it wasn't as if Caroline was putting her head on the chopping block to be with Klaus. But wasn't she? In their time together she had given up her privacy, her anonymity, even some of her best kept secrets to the public to be with him. She had suffered most of the attack and criticism while Klaus didn't seem to bat an eyelash.

Caroline accepted Stefan's advice. As they finished their lunches, the conversation turned back to less serious topics, but she continued to ponder his words. A voice in the back of her mind kept wondering if perhaps she was already in too deep.

* * *

Klaus was making his way through the middle of town, deciding to stop by the Grill for a drink. He certainly needed one. The truth was he was rather nervous about asking Caroline to come to Portland with him, now that Elena and Elijah both had pointed out reasons he should be. It was ridiculous though, why wouldn't she want to come with him? He would bring her with him to Portland, then perhaps back to LA…they could spend some time there before jetting back to Europe again-or maybe somewhere tropical. He wouldn't mind getting her in a bikini. His mind wandered, envisioning a luxury resort with private beaches. What girl could resist? He would take care of her and she wouldn't have to worry about the judgment from the people in Mystic Falls that she had been suffering for the past few weeks.

His fantasies diminished though as Elijah's question had continued to gnaw. Did he love Caroline? What did it matter if he loved her, when he wanted her around? They had never been the couple who put labels on things, they just were. Klaus had always told her that they should just take things in stride. Yes, he considered Caroline his girlfriend, and had heard her refer to him as her boyfriend, but they had never had some big discussion over what their relationship was. Even when they had parted ways in Chicago, it wasn't a label so much-it was more like a promise. Klaus wasn't ready to let her go. He wasn't bored with her the way he usually became with women he dated.

It was…odd.

It led him to wonder…what if she tired of him first? Klaus had always retained the upper hand in romantic relationships, but he wondered if his feelings were resulting in his loss of control and power. If he chose to end their relationship, that was one thing. But if Caroline moved on first…

But that was stupid to think about. He was Niklaus Mikaelson, musical sex-god, who was adored by thousands of women. That thought stroked his ego enough to put the confident smile back on his face and the subtle swagger back into his stride.

As he rounded the corner by the restaurant he froze, seeing his girlfriend's arms wrapped around the neck of another man. His gaze narrowed as she pulled away and laughed at something the man said, playfully slapping him on the arm. Klaus glared, stalking over to them and catching Caroline's eye as he approached.

"Klaus," she said surprised, "what are you doing here?"

"I fancied a drink so I thought I'd stop by the local pub," Klaus said putting a possessive arm around her shoulders and turning his gaze to the man who had just been pawing her, "I don't believe we've met."

"Stefan Salvatore," the brown hair man introduced himself, offering his hand. Klaus took it, giving him a single shake.

"Klaus Mikaelson."

"So I've heard," Stefan smirked.

Stefan…Stefan…why was that name familiar to Klaus? It was a rather uncommon name, not one people heard very often.

"Stefan's visiting from Chicago," Caroline explained, "we went to high school together."

A light of realization turned on inside of Klaus's head. That was where he had heard it. Stefan. He remembered Caroline telling him the story back in London. Stefan. As in Elena's old boyfriend Stefan and Caroline's unrequited high school crush.

"Well Caroline it was nice bumping into you," Stefan said to her with a smile worthy of a toothpaste ad, "I'll see you soon."

"Yeah," she agreed, "I'll give you a call."

Klaus didn't bother to mask his glare as he watched the other man walk away from them. He looked down at Caroline, his arm still around her. Klaus decided that Stefan would not, in fact, be seeing his Caroline any time soon.

"Seriously?" Her eyebrows shot up.

"What's the matter love?"

"I know that look," Caroline said, "that look usually ends with someone getting punched in the face."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Klaus replied, feeling better now that the Salvatore man had made himself scarce. Now all Klaus had to do was keep Caroline occupied until he scampered off to Chicago or wherever it was he said he lived.

"Whatever," Caroline said shaking it off, "you've got me for three hours before I head to Elena's for girls night. Think you can put off the drinking date with yourself?"

"That depends. What did you have in mind love?"

Caroline stood up on her toes, brushing her lips against his. "Oh you're the creative one. I'm sure you can think of something."

* * *

A few "creative" hours later, Caroline made her way from Klaus's apartment over to Elena's house for girls' night. Bonnie was visiting again for her grandmother's birthday, so they decided it was the perfect time for the three of them to hang out, without boyfriends. The three of them gathered in the kitchen, assembling their supply of junk food and drinks to kick off the evening. Elena opened the fridge and brought out a very expensive bottle of champagne.

"Compliments of Elijah," Elena said, answering Caroline and Bonnie's impressed 'oohs'.

"How long has it been since all three of us have been in the same room?" Caroline asked, taking three champagne flutes down from the high shelf in the cabinet.

"Too long," Elena said popping the cork. The champagne fizzed and bubbled and Caroline held up the glasses so she could pour.

"Way too long," Bonnie agreed.

The three of them settled in for a night of champagne and snacks and movies. Maybe the champagne didn't go very well with pizza rolls and cupcakes, but none of them seemed to care. The movie watching was frequently interrupted by giggles over hot guys and Caroline asking which of them Elena knew and what they were like in real life. Elena blushed but after a drink or two, was more forthcoming with her insider gossip.

"Hey ladies."

Their heads snapped up, a male voice interrupting their girl time.

"Jeremy!" Elena yelled, tossing a pillow at him. "You said you were going to hang out with Matt."

"Yeah," Caroline agreed, "no boys allowed!"

"I'm going, I'm going," he said, "I just needed to do something first."

Jeremy walked over to Bonnie and leaned down, giving Bonnie a kiss. Caroline and Elena made fake gagging noises, earning giggles from the couple. "Have fun," he said to her, "I'll call you tomorrow."

Bonnie smiled at him and nodded. "We'll get breakfast."

After a few more heckles, Jeremy surrendered and vacated the house.

"So you two made up?" Elena said giving Bonnie a look.

"Yeah," Bonnie replied with a secret smile.

Caroline looked over a Bonnie. She knew Bonnie and Jeremy's relationship was in its early stages. It happened on a summer visit, while Caroline and Elena were still away, that Bonnie and Jeremy ended up hanging out. Caroline had learned that the two of them had been dancing around each other for a while, not saying anything about their feelings because they were afraid of the age gap and what Elena might think. But of course Elena was completely fine with it. Anyone could see how great Jeremy and Bonnie were together.

"What happened?" She asked, concerned that they were fighting so soon after having just come out with their relationship.

"My dad," Bonnie sighed, "he has a few things to say about me and Jeremy dating."

"Like what?"

"Well he likes Jeremy, obviously he's known him his whole life, but my dad thinks I should be with someone 'more my speed,'" Bonnie said imitating her dad's stern voice.

Caroline made a face. "What does that mean?"

"He doesn't think an artist is a good match for a future doctor."

"What does he think it is," Caroline scoffed, "1952?"

"Right?" Bonnie agreed. "My grams told him to shut the hell up because Jeremy is a nice boy who makes me happy." The three of them smiled and nodded in agreement. "What about you Caroline? How does your mom feel about you dating Niklaus Mikaelson?"

Caroline took a large gulp of her champagne, reaching for the bottle in the center of the table and refilling her glass. "She doesn't have much to say about it, but I know she doesn't really like him."

"Well there isn't much to like," Elena muttered into her glass.

"Elena!"

"What, it's true, he's a complete asshole."

Caroline winced at Elena's words. "Wow, don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel."

Elena sighed. "I'm sorry Care. I know you care about him. But you should have heard him today after our meeting."

"What did he say?"

"He thinks that you're just going to drop everything and go to Portland with us."

Caroline shook her head. "What? Portland?"

"Yeah, for filming."

Caroline stopped, lowering her glass to her lap. "He didn't say anything to me about Portland." She put her glass down on the table, letting her head fall into her hands. The effects of the alcohol were making her brain fuzzy and it felt like everything was rushing to her head all at once. They had been together all afternoon and he hadn't breathed one word to her about the change in plans. It felt like the Katherine issue all over again. Then again, may she was equally as guilty. She also had yet to mention anything about Chicago.

"It's not like you're just going to follow him around and be his girlfriend and not have a life of your own," Elena said.

"No!" Caroline's head snapped up, her curls whipping around her face. "I mean I didn't think I'd have to decide this soon."

Bonnie's gaze flicked between Elena and Caroline. "What do you mean? Decide what?"

Caroline let out a large sigh. She had been considering her relationship with Klaus ever since her chat with Stefan earlier that day at The Grill. There was one thing in particular that he said that kept replaying over and over again in her mind. _The love made all the hard stuff worth it._

"If it's worth it," Caroline finally said, "if all this publicity and being separated and having to give up my normal life is really worth it. I mean we'll never have a normal relationship. I don't even think he _wants_ a normal relationship. And I do. I want to be able to go out to restaurants and not hide from cameras. I want to fight with my boyfriend and not have people post videos of it on the Internet. Or have gossip bloggers speculating on what our body language says about our relationship. Or random girls sending me hate messages on twitter. I can't take it anymore!"

"I know what you mean," Elena said laying a supportive hand on Caroline's back. Caroline looked over at her friend, feeling like she better understood her now. It wasn't as effortless as it always seemed. She couldn't believe how Elena put up with it all the time. Even though she was well loved by most people, there were still those anti-fans who could be quite hateful.

"But when I think about normal now it just sucks…" Caroline said.

"You love him," Bonnie said.

"I do," Caroline said, admitting it out loud for the first time. She had almost thought it several times over the past weeks. She would never let the thought fully form though even in her mind, for fear of one day slipping up and saying it out loud. It was terrible idea to fall for Klaus. He wasn't the guy to fall for. She loved being with him and talking to him and watching him paint and sketch. She loved the way he would suck in a breath whenever he took his first sip of scotch, and how his lips would purse when he was annoyed, and how she hated when he called her 'love' because it sounded just a bit condescending, but also secretly kind of enjoyed it. She loved…well, she loved him.

"Yeah I love him. I love Klaus." She reaffirmed. "Crap."

The three of them exchanged glances, a nervous rumble of laughter rolling between them.

"Yeah," Elena said, "I know exactly what you mean."

* * *

A knock at Klaus's door pulled him away from his current scotch drinking/sketching session. Caroline was out with her girlfriends enjoying "girls' night" so he assumed Elijah had come calling. Maybe they could enjoy some brotherly bonding, Klaus thought. They could use some quality time, since they had been doing nothing but annoying one another since the summer. Klaus would never be the one to admit it, but he had hoped that due to recent changes in both their lives, they could put the past fully behind them.

He opened the door with a smug smile that fell as soon as he saw who was on the other side. Katherine stood there, waving a half emptied bottle of whiskey in the air.

"I'm bored," she announced, barging into his apartment.

"Well I'm busy," Klaus said with a frown.

Katherine walked around to the living area and noted his glass of scotch and open sketchbook.

"Oh yeah getting drunk alone and doodling in your journal," she scoffed, "you look super busy." She sat down on the arm of the brown leather easy chair, unscrewing the bottle and taking a large drink. "Come on, I don't have anyone in this god forsaken town to hang out with. We used to get along."

Her thin brows flicked up and down suggestively as her lips wrapped around the bottle. Katherine had always been a shameless flirt. Klaus shut the door and walked over behind the couch, still frowning at her.

"I don't think so Katherine."

"Aw," she pouted, "what's the matter? That was a one-time thing. Well… a three-time thing but who's counting? Besides, you have a girlfriend now. You're _so_ in love."

She was the second person that day to apply the L word to him and Caroline. Katherine slid down the seat and grabbed the sketchbook, flipping through the pages that consisted mostly of portraits of Caroline. She sniggered, causing Klaus to lunge forward and snatch the book out of her hand, tossing it on the couch out of her reach.

"Touchy," she remarked. "It's almost cute to see that the badass, womanizing rock star actually has feelings for someone. The stuff romantic comedies are made of."

"I'm not in love with Caroline," Klaus said, picking up his glass of scotch and downing the contents.

"Really? Ouch," Katherine replied, "well I guess that will make it easier when she goes to Chicago and you go to Portland and then back to LA." Her arms wobbled a bit as she illustrated their separation by gesturing in opposite directions.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oops, did she not tell you? She got a job offer today in Chicago. Some guy name Stefan or something called her."

Klaus's gaze narrowed. "Stefan?"

"Yeah. She leaves the day after tomorrow."

This was the first Klaus was hearing about this. He had been with Caroline all afternoon and she hadn't mentioned a word about Chicago or a job or Stefan. In fact, if she were leaving so soon, why wouldn't she have told him right away? Images of Caroline and Stefan outside The Grill flashed through his mind; the way he had seen them hug, the way Caroline had smiled and laughed and touched his arm, the obvious joy she had from reconnecting with her old high school love. And now the man had offered her a job and the chance to be close to him. It was out of the question. There was no way Klaus was going to let Caroline go to Chicago.

Before he knew what he was doing, Klaus was grabbing his keys and leaving Katherine in the apartment calling after him. He walked in the direction of Elena's house. It was a bit far, but the irritation and adrenaline he was feeling made him not care that it took twenty minutes for him to get there on foot. Girls' night be damned. He was going to make Caroline talk to him about this whole Chicago idea of hers and explain why she hadn't mentioned it to him. If she was about to gallivant off into Stefan's arms to live happily ever after without a word from him…well she thought wrong. Klaus would not be played.

He hopped up Elena's front steps, the screen door hanging open, and he could hear the girls talking inside. He stopped there, listening to their conversation, Elena's voice catching his ear.

"It's not like you're just going to follow him around and be his girlfriend and not have a life of your own," Elena said from inside.

Damn, Klaus thought. Apparently Elena was sharing the same opinions she had spoken before with Caroline now. Something told him she had let the news slip about the move to Portland. Once again Elena Gilbert's mouth was getting him into trouble.

"No!" He heard Caroline agree. "I mean I didn't think I'd have to decide this soon."

His breath caught. Decide? What did she mean decide? Someone else asked the question echoing in his thoughts and he heard Caroline take a deep breath before answering.

"If it's worth it. If all this publicity and being separated and having to give up my normal life is really worth it. I mean we'll never have a normal relationship. I don't even think he _wants_ a normal relationship. And I do. I want to be able to go out to restaurants and not hide from cameras. I want to fight with my boyfriend and not have people post videos of it on the Internet. Or have gossip bloggers speculating on what our body language says about our relationship. Or random girls sending me hate messages on twitter. I can't take it anymore!"

That was enough. Klaus had had enough. He spun away from the door and sped back down the steps. So Caroline wanted to end it. She couldn't take the pressure and didn't think he was worth putting up with it all. Didn't think he was _worth_ it. It shouldn't have come as a total surprise. No one—outside of his own family-had wanted to put up with him for the long term. Now she had found an out, another opportunity, and she didn't need him. And why shouldn't she? She wanted normality. She had suggested that much to him the other night in bed. He couldn't give her the life she wanted. Of all the girls in the world who dreamed of having his attention, he had to pick the girl who didn't want it.

That was fine.

As Klaus had told Katherine, he didn't love her, so it didn't matter.

He walked back into his apartment and saw Katherine lounging on the couch, bottle still in hand, flipping through channels on his television. She didn't turn when he entered. Klaus stood there for a moment, ignoring the burn behind his eyes, willing himself to shut off his emotions. From that moment on, he was done with Caroline Forbes. He would feel nothing about her. He wouldn't give her significance in his memory. That was all she had been all along, was an amusement, as Elijah had said, until the next one came along.

With a slam of the door, he stomped over to Katherine, and grabbed the bottle out of her hand putting it to his lips and taking a few large swigs. The alcohol slid down his throat, bitter and cheap, but it would do its job. It was the only friend he could ever count on. Katherine stared at him as he fell back into the easy chair, letting out a satisfied breath.

"Okay," she said her eyebrows furrowing, "I'm confused."

Klaus smirked. "Let's you and I have some fun sweetheart," he said, "like the old days."

* * *

**Uh oh...lots going on! Caroline's new job offer, Klaus's film location changing, impending separation, confusion of feelings...what's going to happen?!**

**Think you guys can handle another short chapter?**

**Okay deep breaths **


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes at the end!**

* * *

Caroline rolled over and hit someone next to her in bed, shoving them over so she could have more space to stretch out. A dull thud and a disgruntled "oof" came from the floor. Her eyes opened and she saw Elena rubbing her head and yawning.

"Ow Care," she said.

"Oops," Caroline said, "sorry."

After polishing off the champagne, movies, and junk food last night the three of them had decided to slumber it in Elena's bed like they had when they were teenagers. Hearing the noise, Bonnie began to stir on Caroline's other side.

"What time is it?" She asked sleepily.

"Nine," Elena said checking her phone.

"Too early," Caroline complained, her voice still thick with sleep. She was still on Klaus's rock star sleep schedule.

"I should get up," Bonnie replied, "told Jeremy I'd have breakfast with him."

"Yeah, Elijah has already texted me twice this morning."

Caroline laughed. "Didn't peg Elijah for the clingy boyfriend."

"He's not clingy," Elena protested standing up from the floor, "he just misses me and is very open with his feelings. We have a very mature relationship."

"Oh mature of course," Caroline teased, "come on tell the truth…he has this secret wild side right? All those quiet, stuffy suit wearing men do. I've read _50 Shades of Gray_."

"Nice try Caroline, I am not dishing details about my sex life with Elijah."

"Oh come on Elena," Caroline said, "just between us girls?"

"Nope," Elena smiled grabbing the hairbrush from her vanity and running it through her messy curtain of hair, "no _50 Shades_ between me and Elijah."

"You're no fun," Caroline pouted, pulling her hair out of the bun she had wrapped it in the night before.

"Well I will say…knowing how to act has come in handy a few times."

Elena winked turning her attention back toward the mirror. Caroline and Bonnie exchanged shocked, open mouth glances before bursting into a fit of giggles.

Caroline reached over to the nightstand to look at her own phone, a little disappointed that she hadn't received any texts from Klaus over night. She shrugged it off though, thinking maybe he was just being a good boyfriend and giving her space.

As she got dressed, she started feeling more and more nervous about the conversation she needed to have with him that day.

After talking with her friends last night, she realized that being with Klaus was worth all the privacy invasion and crazy fan-girls and gossip and judgmental looks. Because she loved him. She wasn't a stranger to love, she had been in love with boyfriends before but for some reason this time it seemed different to her. With Klaus, it was more significant, more real, and more important. But that also made it more intimidating. It was like being an acrobat. She was used to walking the tightrope and had done it a million times, but now she was out there without the safety net.

She wasn't willing to give up her job opportunity in Chicago. Elena was right in saying that she couldn't just follow Klaus around and be nothing but his girlfriend. She had to be smart about the situation. Doing the long distance thing would suck, but she knew that she would rather have him long distance than not have him at all. She just hoped he felt the same way. They had made it work over the summer and they could make it work now. In fact, they had more reason than ever to make it work now, or so she hoped.

Did he love her too? That was the real kicker. Klaus had said he had been in love before. And if his history with women was anything to go by, he wasn't exactly the love type of guy. The more she thought about that, the more Caroline's old insecurities began to rear their ugly heads. She wondered what made her think that she would be the special one to change all of that for him. Why should he fall for her when he had yet to fall for anyone else?

But she had to know. She valued herself enough not to play games and not to get herself involved with someone who wouldn't love her the way she deserved. And she did deserve love. In spite of all her insecurities, that she one hundred percent believed.

Once she was dressed, she said goodbye to Bonnie and Elena, and headed over to Klaus's apartment. As she drove, she rehearsed in her head what she was going to say, debating on whether or not she should drop the "L" bomb on him. Of course, she didn't expect him to say it right back. That would be nice of course, but she knew Klaus, and knew that he was always great at articulating his feelings when put on the spot. But as long as she could see some sign or indication that he was considering the idea of being in love with her too-well that would be enough for her.

She reached his front door, knocking, and feeling kind of stupid. It wasn't like she didn't have a key and couldn't let herself in. She was flustered. Butterflies were bouncing around her stomach at warp speed. She knew this conversation had the potential to not end well and she was really, really hoping that things would work out.

The locked clicked and Klaus answered, pulling on a t-shirt.

"Morning," she greeted him with a bright smile, trying to act normal.

"Good morning," he replied.

They stood in the doorway for a moment, before Caroline broke the silence with a nervous laugh. "Are you going to let me in?"

"By all means love," Klaus let the door swing open and Caroline walked inside.

"So I need to talk to you," Caroline said turning to face Klaus as he shut the door.

"I'm assuming you're going to come clean about Chicago?"

Caroline bit her lip. "You already heard. How?"

"Oh Katherine already told me all about it," Klaus replied.

"Katherine? What did she say?"

"Did someone call my name?" Katherine appeared then, slinking out of Klaus's bedroom wearing nothing but one of his button-up shirts. Caroline's mouth fell open, her heart stopping as her eyes flicked between Katherine and Klaus. She registered Katherine's raised brow and Klaus's dark expression. His eyes stayed focus on the floor, his mouth set into a hard line. Katherine walked around to the living area. "Oh, here are my jeans. Guess I'll make myself scare and give you two some space." Katherine slipped on her pants and head toward the door.

"How kind of you," Caroline snapped keeping her eyes on Klaus. She glared at him in effort to fight back the tears that had begun to rise. The door swung open behind her as Katherine made her exit.

"Oh Klaus," Katherine called to him before she left, "I guess we're even."

The door clicked shut and Klaus spoke.

"Caroline I—"

"No!" She shouted. "You do not even get to try to explain this."

"I didn't sleep with her, she's just trying to make you think I did, to get back at me."

His voice was passive, detached; like it wasn't a big deal at all that Katherine had stayed overnight doing whatever the hell they had been doing and Caroline was ridiculous for reacting the way that she did.

"Oh just like you didn't sleep with that redhead in Paris, Klaus? This seems to happen to you a lot. How convenient."

Klaus squared his jaw. "Well if we're throwing out accusations, when were you planning on telling me about Chicago?"

"Today," Caroline replied, "just now."

"How convenient," Klaus said, throwing her words back at her.

"Well what about you? When were you going to tell me about Portland?"

"I wasn't."

Caroline opened her mouth, ready with her next retort, but then stopped. Those weren't the words that she had been expecting. "You weren't?"

"No," Klaus said, "I didn't see the point."

"You didn't see the point?" Caroline took a closer look at him then, noticing the stiffness of his expression; the way his mouth held still, and his eyes remained passive. It was his poker face. She had seen it a few times over the months that she had known him. It had been a while since he had thrown up these walls toward her but she knew it meant he was doing it to cover something else up. It wasn't sleeping with Katherine. That was just a distraction from the real issue that he was trying not to bring up. "Klaus if this is about Chicago—"

"Doesn't that make it easier sweetheart?" Klaus said, "You'll go you're way and I'll go mine."

"So you just wanted to end this?"

Her voice was small and vulnerable. She knew this conversation had the potential to go badly, but she hadn't thought it would be like this.

"Yes," Klaus said. "Where was it going really? We were just dragging it out. Now we can both avoid the backlash. It was only supposed to be a bit of fun. " Klaus turned away from her then, heading toward his room, a clear sign of dismissal. "Don't worry. Elijah will come up with some explanation. You'll be off the hook."

"No." Caroline said, holding her ground.

He glanced back over his shoulder. "No?"

Just took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. "I know you didn't sleep with Katherine. There is something else going on here."

"How do you know I didn't?" Klaus challenged.

She shook her head at him. "Okay first you deny it and now you're trying to convince me you did? Obviously I'm right in thinking that for some reason you want me to think you did so you have an easy way to get out of this. Why are you pushing me away?"

Klaus schooled his features into a cocky smirk before turning to face her. "This is pathetic you know," he said with a laugh, "I've seen a lot of women beg me not to leave them, but this is just absurd."

"Klaus…don't—"

"You think you're more important than the others?" He asked stalking toward her. "You all think you can fix me. That you'll be different? That you'll be the one to show the bad boy what he's missing out on?" He was standing over her now, his face inches from hers. "I'm not your little project Caroline."

"I never treated you like a project Klaus," she hugged her arms around her chest," That was Elena. And Elijah. Not me. You're the one who pursued me first."

"And why wouldn't I?" Klaus's eyes raked over her. "But we've had our fun sweetheart. I'm no longer in the mood to pretend to be something I'm not for your sake."

He loomed over her and Caroline flinched at the coldness of his stare. She had never thought of Klaus as an asshole. Anytime that Elena had made mention of Klaus being cruel and unfeeling Caroline had denied it. He was a cocky jerk perhaps, a bit selfish and impulsive, but never someone who was truly, heartlessly mean. But now she saw it. She saw the awful man that Elena saw.

Dropping her arms, she turned from him then and headed for the door. Her hand touched the knob, but before she turned it she faced him again, wanting to get off her chest what she had originally come there to say. No matter what.

"You know, I came here to tell you that I love you. That I was going to Chicago and knew you were going to Portland, but that I still wanted to make it work. That I don't care about all of the fame or any of the crap that comes with it because I think you're worth it. Because I love you."

Klaus was staring at the floor, but he looked up at her then. For a moment she saw him falter and something akin to shock cross his features. But it only lasted a second before his eyes glazed over again, piercing her with intensity and indifference. "But there's one problem sweetheart, I don't love you."

Caroline shuddered, swallowing down the thickness in her throat. Biting back the urge to cry she turned the knob and gave him one final look. "Thanks," she said unable to completely keep the edge of tears from her voice, "that's all I needed to know."

* * *

**Okay, get the feelings out...I'll wait...**

**Good?**

**So the last chapter was basically building to this chapter, in which everything exploded. I basically wanted there to be a bit of jumping around with the two of them over why they were mad/upset with one another. The entire idea was to have a car crash of a fight and leave it with a feeling of 'wait...what the hell just happened?'**

**Just to clarify in case anyone is confused, Klaus did NOT sleep with Katherine (more on that in next chap). Caroline knows him well enough to know that he was trying to recognize he was using it as an escape hatch when his story started to change (she's smart like that). Klaus in the last chapter basically had poor foresight with Caroline. Where most people see relationships evolving and becoming more serious (leading to love, commitment and happily ever after) Klaus never thinks that far ahead. He's basically getting in his own way when it comes to her.**

**Just a couple chapters left. Still working out the kinks at the end so your thoughts and feedback could definitely effect those outcomes. Leave me some love (or tough love) in reviews!**

**follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


	19. Chapter 19

**A couple things: I did something I don't usually do. I went back and changed a detail in an earlier chapter. *SHOCKED GASP*...it's tiny though. I just realized that there should be a little more time in between the breakup and Caroline heading off to Chicago. So a week goes by instead of just a day or two.**

**Second, this is the LAST CHAPTER! Crazy right?! I didn't even realize it myself until after I posted last time. There will be an epilogue following this though. So we aren't quite at the ending yet.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I absolutely loved reading them all. In fact, your comments and thoughts sent me into rewrites and you guys influenced how this chapter finally turned out. **

**So pat yourselves on the back...**

**...or maybe not ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"What time is your flight?"

Caroline looked up from her cheese fries at Matt. She's stopped by The Grill to grab a bite to eat and say goodbye to Matt before she headed out to Chicago.

"It's at two," she replied, "I need to get going soon if I'm going to make it on time."

"Well good luck with the interview," Matt said, "I'm sure they'll love you."

"Thanks," Caroline said, "but I doubt they were impressed with my audition video blog. It's kind of hard to be perky and engaging when you want to crawl under the covers and never get out."

Matt offered her a sympathetic smile. "Sorry about Klaus."

He had heard they broke up. Even though the rest of the world had yet to be privy to that piece of knowledge, her close friends still knew. No one knew the details, because she hadn't wanted to rehash the story to any of them, but they were well aware that Caroline and Klaus were done. It had been a week since that horrible morning. She was dreading the day the media found out and the circus over their breakup began. Dealing with it personally was bad enough, she had no desire to suffer and be humiliated publicly. Not wanting to have to accept the help of Elijah, Caroline had let Elena call in Jenna's services, free of charge just in case she needed them.

Caroline had decided that whether or not the magazine job worked out, she would stay in Chicago with her dad and Stephen. It was time to move on from Mystic Falls, time for a brand new start. She hoped in Chicago she could lay low. She hoped soon she could make people forget that she was _Niklaus Mikaelon's Small Town Whirl-wind Girlfriend_ and just go back to being _Caroline Forbes: Nobody Special._

"Excuse me," a female voice said next to Matt. Caroline saw Katherine standing there. The other woman was about to speak, but she stopped short, giving Matt a not so discreet once over. "God you're hot."

Matt blushed and chuckled. "Can I get you something?"

"Yeah," Katherine smiled, "a diet coke. Two cherries." Caroline rolled her eyes as Matt smiled and walked away. "Is this seat taken? I come in peace."

Without waiting for an answer, Katherine slid into the booth across from Caroline.

"What do you want?" Caroline asked, in no mood for Katherine or anything she had to say. She couldn't fathom the reason as to why Katherine was seeking her out. Part of her wanted to reach across the table and smack her across the face. Or better yet, hold her down and force feed the her the rest of her cheese fries and let the fatty food wreak havoc on her perfect body.

"I didn't sleep with Klaus."

Caroline scoffed. "Wow you don't beat around the bush."

"I thought you should know that," Katherine said.

"Well thanks I already figured that out," Caroline replied, "so now if you wouldn't mind…I need to catch a flight and I'm sure you have other lives to terrorize…"

"No so fast," Katherine said, "how did you figure it out?"

"I just did. I know Klaus."

Katherine cocked her head to the side. "You really do love him don't you?"

"Not that it's any of your business," Caroline said, "but yeah I do. Did." Caroline wasn't sure yet whether or not the feeling was past tense yet, even if it should be.

"I loved Elijah," Katherine said, her eyes shifting around the room in a rare moment of vulnerability. Caroline was stunned enough by the unwarranted admission to stay in her seat and wait for Katherine to continue. "Look I know you heard the whole story about me and Elijah and Klaus from the Golden Girl, and I just wanted you to know that I really did love Elijah. It's the only time I've ever been in love with anyone."

"So then why did you sleep with his brother?"

"Because I was scared. Elijah can be so…so distant. He never showed any passion toward me when we were dating. I was so in love with him and so angry with him for not loving me the way I wanted him to. I was hurt. So I decided to get back at him. Klaus and I were drunk together one night and I went for it. Klaus didn't care about me, he just liked the attention, and not to mention he was on this serious spiral of self-destruction, I knew that. The morning after Klaus and I had spent the night together, Elijah came over," Katherine's voice seemed to break a bit, "he brought flowers and told me he was sorry for being so distant lately and wanted to make it up to me and take me on a vacation. Well at that moment, Klaus decided to come out of my bedroom wearing nothing but a sheet."

Caroline thought back to the morning two days ago, when Katherine had slipped out of Klaus's bedroom.

_I guess we're even._

"You were sabotaging Klaus because he sabotaged your relationship with Elijah," Caroline said.

"If he would have just kept his damn mouth shut, things with Elijah would have been perfect. No one would have ever known. We could have been happy. But no he ruined everything. Even though he said it was his brotherly duty to expose what how untrustworthy I was to Elijah."

"I'm guessing that's why you continued working for Elijah. You were hoping to get him back?"

"Elijah hasn't been in any sort of relationship since we dated," Katherine told her, "I thought maybe that meant he still loved me, he was just waiting for the right moment after seeing he could trust me again. But then he goes to Europe and comes back dating Elena-Fucking-Gilbert and is happy. And I realized that Elijah never did love me. He never treated me the way he treated her or got as jealous the way he did with Elena and Klaus. That wasn't even real and he couldn't stand it! And then Klaus was with you..." Katherine threw up her hands in frustration, "Why should Klaus get a happy ending and not me when he's hurt people far worse than I ever did?"

"So you hurt me to get back at Klaus?"

"Don't take it personally," Katherine said, "I like you. You just got caught in the crossfire. I just wanted to make Klaus miserable the way he made me miserable."

"Yeah I'll try not to take it personally that you used me to get to someone I care about."

"I like you Caroline I really do. You're a little too perky for my taste, but that's why I'm telling you the truth."

Caroline was skeptical. "Why the change of heart?"

"Because it really didn't make me feel any better in the end," Katherine said, "and I decided to quit working for Elijah. It's time for me to move on." Caroline was still angry with Katherine, but at the same time she felt some sympathy for the woman. It was clear that she had gotten her heartbroken, even if she had had a hand in breaking it herself. Before the other morning, she had actually thought that Katherine had been warming up to her. Not that she ever wanted to be best friends with the woman. Especially not now since her vindictiveness seemed to outweigh her loyalty. However, she figured, maybe everyone deserved a second chance. Maybe that was just how it was with Katherine. Liking and disliking her in equal measure.

Just then, Matt came back with Katherine's diet coke, two cherries. Katherine switched gears fast, going from vulnerable, heartbroken girl to full force seductress. She took one of the cherries from the soda and popped it suggestively into her mouth.

"Thanks," she said to Matt, giving him a flick of her eyebrows.

"You're welcome," Matt laughed, blushing again and heading off to check on another table.

Katherine turned her attention back to Caroline. "His eyes. They're just so…blue."

Caroline laughed. "He's single you know."

Katherine seemed to consider for a moment before stepping out of the booth and heading toward Matt, who was back behind the bar now.

"Hey Katherine," Caroline called to her. The brunette turned around, her wild curls spinning around her like a curtain. "He's a nice guy."

Katherine gave her a saucy smile. "I can fix that."

Caroline smiled, shaking her head. She sincerely hoped she wasn't going to regret that.

* * *

"So it's settled then," Elijah said, "we'll fly out tomorrow."

Klaus nodded, not paying much attention as his brother relayed the final details for their trip to Portland the next day. In his hand was a glass of scotch. He stared out the window down the street, as Elijah conversed with Elena, his back to them. It was about time they left Mystic Falls. Klaus was sick of this insipid small town. He wished he could go back to L.A. before filming. He needed the myriad distractions of the city. Being in this town with nothing to do and nowhere to go left him with too much time to think. At least filming would begin in Portland. He could throw himself into work and forget all about the summer and Mystic Falls and anyone connected to either of those things.

"Okay well I'm going to go," Elena said. Elijah must have finished up whatever he had been droning on about. "Caroline is flying out today and I want to see if I can catch her before she leaves."

"Oh that's right," Elijah remarked, "for the job in Chicago."

"Yeah, she's pretty much decided on moving there though, whether or not they hire her for the magazine."

"I'm sure they will," Elijah offered in encouragement.

Klaus shut his eyes, wincing at the mention of her name. He recalled the way she had looked just the other night when she had walked out the door. The pain in her eyes after she had told him she loved him and he rejected her. She had spoken the exact words that should have allayed all of his fears, but instead he chose to shut her down. But it didn't matter now. He wouldn't regret it. She was moving on and so was he. It no doubt would have happened either way. In no time at all, their brief interlude would be a thing of the past, not worth any further reflection. He turned toward the couple behind him, putting on an easy smile.

"Well give her my best if you see her," Klaus said raising his glass, "I'm sure she'll be very happy in her new job. And with Stefan. He was your ex correct? I certainly hope there won't be any hard feelings."

"Stefan? What does he have to do with anything?"

"Well he got Caroline her job opportunity. I'm sure you know how it goes between colleagues," his gaze slid between her and his brother. Unable to keep his bored and alcohol hazed mind from wandering, Klaus had spent plenty of time over the past two days conjuring scenarios in which Stefan and Caroline lived happily ever after, in their normal life, with career and family and romance. Everything she wanted. Everything he couldn't give.

Elena glanced at Elijah, who didn't seem to have anymore understanding than her about what Klaus was saying.

"First of all," Elena said stepping toward him, "Caroline got the opportunity on her own merits, she just had some help making a connection. Secondly, it was Stephen, her dad's partner, not _Stefan_ who helped her. And thirdly-not that this is any of your business whatsoever-Stefan has a girlfriend named Lexi, who he just moved in with two months ago so I don't think he has any intentions of trying to make any moves on Caroline."

On the inside, Klaus immediately realized his mistake. Or Katherine's mistake, rather. A simple mix-up of names and a severe misunderstanding. It was almost too Shakespearian that he wanted to laugh. But on the outside, Klaus didn't falter at this revelation. His expression remained indifferent. What difference did it make that he had gotten the wrong information? They were done.

"None of that matters to me," Klaus said, playing to the opinion that Elena held of him, "I don't know why you think it would."

Elena scoffed at his silence and nodded, grabbing her purse off the table. "I'm gonna go. Call me later Elijah?" Elijah nodded once and Elena walked forward, giving him a short kiss goodbye. Before she left she stopped and turned back toward Klaus. "Caroline saw something in you, but she was wrong. You really don't deserve her."

With those last words, Elena left.

Klaus tossed back the rest of the alcohol in his glass, his gaze falling on Elijah's watchful eyes. "Do you have something to say brother?"

"No," Elijah replied, "I just haven't seen you hitting the bottle this hard in a long time."

"Well I'm sure we can attribute that to me being heartbroken can't we?" Klaus snapped back, "Now that the angelic influence of my life is gone I'm acting out irrationally."

Elijah gave him a slight shrug. "What do you have to be broken hearted about? You were the one who ended things, if my facts serve me."

Klaus ignored him, heading over to the counter where he had left the bottle and refreshing his glass.

"You could call her," Elijah suggested, "make amends and admit your mistake. I've noticed that Caroline can be very forgiving."

"My mistake?" Klaus said resenting the criticism.

"You're telling me that you didn't lash out at Caroline thinking she was choosing to go to Chicago and be with another man instead of following you? Or perhaps you were simply trying to beat her to the punch, and ending the relationship before she did?"

Klaus glowered at Elijah. His damn brother was too perceptive. But he wouldn't admit to making a mistake. This time Elijah didn't know as much as he thought he did. Klaus took another sip of scotch, watching his brother type something into his phone.

"Regardless," Klaus said filling the silence, "she wants a normal relationship. With a normal man. She's not made to tolerate the obstacles of living life in the public eye."

"On the contrary, I think she's been quite resilient the entire summer and over the past few weeks especially."

"Well they were her words," Klaus said, "from her lips to Elena's ears."

"Elena told you this?"

"I had the pleasure of overhearing their conversation the other night."

Elijah nodded, removing his cell phone from his coat pocket and beginning to type. A few moments later he pressed a final button on his phone and then set it down on the table. He moved closer to Klaus. "And your feelings and wants don't matter? You usually make those a top priority."

Klaus frowned. "Watch yourself Elijah." He turned his back from him, concentrating on his glass as he set it down, the counter below him, his hands gripping the sides.

"Well it's probably for the best, I'm sure you're right," Elijah said, "you know Katherine quit today."

"Good riddance."

"Elena was relieved. As you can imagine she didn't appreciate having her around after she learned out our history." Klaus didn't answer, continuing to nurse his drink, more concerned about his alcohol rations and if he would need to venture into town to procure more.

"Well it's about bloody time."

"She asked me," Elijah said, "Elena asked me, when I told her the story, why I was so calm about catching the two of you together? Why I didn't lash out?" Elijah grabbed the bottle and took a sip. "I told her it was because I wasn't like you. That I didn't hurt people when I was afraid of being hurt. That I could recognize a car crash when I saw it."

Klaus sneered. "So that's all I've ever been to you? A car crash?"

"No," Elijah said, "you're my little brother. My spoiled little brother who, in spite of caring deeply for his family, can be incredibly selfish. Who has suffered fierce rejection as a child that no one should suffer. Who doesn't know how to accept anything good into his life. You're the little brother who I've been following around for far too many years, cleaning up after your messes, and never letting you learn your lessons because I never wanted you to feel anymore pain."

Klaus turned to face Elijah, a cutting retort ready on his tongue, but he was cut off as Elijah's fist connected with his jaw. The force of the punch caused Klaus to stumble back, grasping out for the island counter to steady himself. He felt blood pool in his mouth where his teeth had clamped down on his cheek as the hit landed. He leaned over the counter, his face throbbing, and glanced up to see Elijah shaking out his fist and readjusting his suit.

"And people always call you the noble brother," Klaus said, spitting out some of the blood in his mouth.

"You've deserved that for weeks," Elijah replied, unapologetic about the sucker punch, "but never more than you do now."

"Is this payback? For Katherine? After all this time?"

"No," Elijah said, "I never loved Katherine. That was why I could forgive you for being a relentless ass in screwing my girlfriend and allow her to keep her job. That was for Caroline. I watched the both of you fall for each other over the summer, and—all I've ever wanted for you is to be happy Niklaus. I've wanted that for you since our mother died. I haven't seen you truly delighted about anything since she's been gone. Not music, not family, not evening painting which you used to love, until Caroline came along." Elijah took a step closer to him, close enough that Klaus could get his own hit in now if he chose. "I've watched you throw away a lot of things Klaus, but this, I can't stand by and watch you this time."

"So leave," Klaus snapped.

"I won't leave Klaus. That's what you always expect. You try to push all of us away. But Rebekah and I will always stand by you, because we're your family. Caroline…she doesn't have the commitment. She has a choice. If you push her hard enough, she'll go."

"She's already gone," Klaus replied, pointing toward Elijah. "This all started because you, in one of your attempts to 'clean up my messes'. Making me pretend to date Elena Gilbert in effort to change my life."

"No I was trying to change your image," Elijah said, "it was someone else who changed your life."

With nothing more to say, Elijah left Klaus, who scowled at him as he walked out the front door. He pushed away from the counter with a growl, heading toward the bathroom to check the damage to his face. It was Elijah's fault that he had changed. If it wasn't for him he would have never met Caroline? What good had she ever been in his life?

He clicked on the bathroom light and stared at himself in the mirror. His reflection was as handsome as ever. His blue-gray eyes assessed his appearance, noticing a bit of redness under the scruff on his jaw. Perhaps if he avoided shaving for a few days more, his beard would cover any bruising. Other than that he looked healthy, even if a little sleep deprived. He didn't used to care about hiding the signs of a fistfight on his face. He couldn't believe Elijah had hit him. It made him wonder what Caroline would have said about it.

"Well what did you do to deserve it?" Klaus said to his reflection, imitating Caroline's American accent. He chuckled to himself, before he realized his lapse.

Elijah was right. Caroline would be happy. She would move on. She was intelligent and kind and beautiful and someone would take notice of that. Maybe it would take a week, or a year, or even as little as a day, but she would find someone who could give her all the things that she wanted. That would appreciate the amazing woman she was. That would love her unreservedly the way she should be loved.

But no one, he decided, more than him.

Without a chance for second thought he rushed from the bathroom, grabbing his jacket off the back of the couch. In it were his keys, phone, and wallet. He tore open the door and saw Elijah standing there, leaning up against the opposite wall of the corridor.

"I knew it," he said with a gleam in his eye, "you _are_ in love with her."

Klaus blinked at him. "What?"

"I was just trying to help you admit it to yourself." Klaus stood there, unable to respond, confused. Elijah straightened up again. "I called a car for you, it's waiting downstairs to take you to the airport." A sly grin broke out over his face and he clapped Elijah on the shoulder. "You better get going. The plane will be leaving soon and I'm sure it's going to take a lot of groveling to get her back."

* * *

"I'm sorry we missed each other," Caroline said to Elena over the phone. She was currently browsing through one of the many airport bookstores, trying to decide on a book to purchase for her flight. Elena apparently stopped by her house to say goodbye, but the two of them had missed each other, since Caroline had decided to leave Mystic Falls earlier than planned. "We'll get together again soon. Maybe you can come stay in Chicago?"

They made promises and plans to keep in touch and Caroline hung up the phone. She noticed the time, realizing that she would need to make her way through the security lines soon if she was going to make it to her gate on time. Her eyes flicked up to a rack of magazines and she scanned the selection, thinking maybe she'd buy one of those instead of a book since it was a short flight. Her eyes landed on one with Klaus's face plastered on the cover and the headline "Sources Say: It's love."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes in effort to clamp down on the tears threatening to rise.

"What sources are those?" She muttered to herself. One shelf down, there was another picture of him and her, holding hands and walking through Mystic Falls. She was wearing her favorite blue flowered dress. She remembered that day, because she had begged Klaus to tell her about the date he had planned for her back in Paris before Tyler had shown up and they had been interrupted.

"Please, come on, just a hint," she had begged, wrapping her arm tight around his.

He had chuckled. "Not even a hint. I might still want to put that plan into action one day."

It was the first time he had hinted at a future. The first time she had heard him make any distant plans when it came to her. The first time when she had thought maybe…

She shut her eyes and stopped the memory replaying her mind. It was just another thing to add to the list of moments that she wanted to forget. Which would have been easier to do if he wasn't constantly on magazine covers, or her TV, or everywhere she dared to go on the Internet. It wasn't going to be like a normal breakup, where she could slink away and pretend things never happened; where disposing of old pictures and presents and physical reminders of him would help her forget and heal. No, the entire entertainment industry was a giant reminder that she had been dumb enough to let herself fall for Klaus. She hoped that when the story broke the media would be kind, lose interest in her quickly, and let her move on with her life until her time with Klaus became nothing but a fond memory.

Taking a deep breath, she turned away from the magazine rack and pulled her carry on bag along towards the security line.

"Can't you just go round the other way?" Klaus barked at the driver. Just as they reached the airport, they hit a patch of traffic, cars coming and going and backing up along the rode. Klaus looked at the time. He was just in reach of her. He didn't want to miss her.

As the car jerked along, he opened his phone to her number and pressed send. It rang once before going to voicemail.

"Come on damn it!" Klaus shouted at the traffic, willing it to move along. The message signal beeped. "Caroline. Please. Do not get on the plane. I need to see you."

He hung up with growl as the car continued to inch down the airport road. He wasn't sure if it was two minutes or two hours later, but they made it to the curbside drop and he leaped from the car, dashing through the automatic doors and running up to the boards, searching for the flights scheduled for Chicago.

Caroline felt her phone vibrate in her bag. She retrieved it, seeing Klaus's name on the caller ID. Her thumb hovered over the ignore button for a moment before sending the call to voicemail. A few short moments she heard her phone ding with a new voicemail. From Klaus. This time her curiosity got the better of her and she listened to it.

_"Caroline. Please. Do not get on the plane. I need to see you."_

The message ended. She played it again.

_"Caroline. Please. Do not get on the plane. I need to see you."_

An impatient throat cleared behind her. "Miss…" the stuffy businessman said to her, indicating that the line was moving and she was holding things up. She gave him an apologetic half smile and shuffled forward, dropping her phone back into her bag. Reaching the front of the line, she hoisted her bag onto the conveyer belt and dropped her purse and her shoes into one of the white plastic bins, waiting her turn to step through the metal detector.

She went through in a daze, Klaus's voicemail playing over and over again in her mind.

_Caroline._

_ I need to see you._

_ Need to see you._

Her feet slipped back into her shoes and she lifted her bag off the belt.

"Caroline!" She heard shouting behind her. "Caroline!"

Her head whipped around and she saw Klaus running toward the security line, trying to get as close as he could. The TSA official standing nearby stepped toward him and asked him to stand back if he wasn't passenger. She stood there, her hand gripping the handle of her rolling suitcase, and she shook her head.

No. He was too late.

She turned away from him and headed toward the gates.

Klaus cursed. Walking away from the security line and around to the other side in attempt to get closer to her. There was a glass wall that divided between the security area and the regular part of the airport. A few people lingered there; still waving goodbye to loved ones. Klaus walked along it, following Caroline's path toward the gates.

"Caroline. Listen to me." He called to her, shouting, his voice muffled by the glass.

She stopped with a huff, stepping closer to the glass wall and doing her best to give him a hard look Klaus. "What? What do you want to say?"

Klaus stared at her through the glass; his eyes flicking back and forth across her face. He couldn't think of what he wanted to say, all he could think of was what he wanted to do-if it wasn't for the damn glass in between them.

"I'm here," Klaus said, as if that explained it all.

Caroline nodded, looking off to the side. She noticed the wary glances of the airport security.

"Yeah, you're here," Caroline said. "You know people always say actions speak louder than words, but it's a bunch of crap. Sometimes you really just need to hear the words."

"What should I say?" Klaus asked.

Caroline gave him an annoyed look. "If you can't figure that out on your own, then there's no point in me telling you." She picked up her bag and started away again.

Klaus pressed his hands to the glass, feeling his chance slipping away. "An apology?"

"That would be a start," she said shaking her curls away from her face. She looked at him again, only for second before nodding her head. "Goodbye Klaus."

"Wait Caroline…Caroline!" Klaus banged his hands against the glass in frustration, pushing away from it and pacing in a small circle. He dragged his palm over his hand, watching the arriving passengers pass through the open doorway just around the other side. Caroline continued walking away, through the gate, without so much as a backwards glance.

"To hell with it," he said.

With a passing look at the security officers that had begun to linger around them, he darted back down the wide corridor and around the glass wall, pushing his way through the sea of arrivals and dashing towards Caroline. Behind him he could hear security shouting for him to stop.

Caroline heard the commotion behind her and started to turn around when she felt a hand grab her arm. In the blink of an eye she was being spun around and she realized it was Klaus a half second before he was crushing his lips against hers. His hands cupped her face and he kissed her like she had never been kissed before. He kissed her because his lips could not find the words to explain how much she had come to mean to him. As his mouth moved against hers, he realized that he understood why people wrote love songs and books and made films all about this one earth shattering, life ruining, redeeming emotion. The touch of his lips, soft and demanding, was his way of telling her that he would spend every day making her happy. Nothing else in the world mattered to him, as long as she woke up beside him every morning, smiled at him, fought with him, chastised him, and continued to love him like she said she did.

Klaus kissed her again before separating from her, pulling back to gage her reaction.

She opened her eyes and looked into his, stunned for a moment, lost to the weightlessness of the kiss before gravity settled upon her once again. He lost her gaze, as her eyes flicked around the area of the terminal, a crowd gathering and noticing the drama unfolding. Cameras started clicking and a dull roar of murmurs and whispers erupted. Her brow furrowed at the attention. Klaus willed her to ignore them; they didn't matter. They would never understand anything as important as what was happening at that moment. She just needed to look at him again. He _needed_ her to look at him again. When she met his eyes finally, the hope he felt died in his chest. Klaus saw it play out across her face. He was losing her.

"Please Caroline," he implored, "don't get on the plane."

"I—"Caroline stammered, her eyes leaving his and glancing behind him, but he didn't dare look away from her face. She took a few steps back, out of Klaus's reach. "I have to go."

Caroline turned away, one final time, and rushed toward her gate.

Klaus's hands fell to his sides as he watched her retreat. Two security guards pulled his arms behind him, slapping cuffs around his wrists, but he barely noticed. All he saw was Caroline as she walked away.

* * *

Klaus sat in a metal folding chair in the detention room of the airport. His hands were folded across a brown square table in the middle of the room. Under normal circumstances, he would have been arrested for breaching security, but because of who he was they were just detaining him instead. He had been in the room for just over an hour according to the clock on the wall. It made him wonder how long they would keep him there, like a child in time out.

His fingers traced random patterns across the surface of the table. What he wouldn't give for a finger of whiskey right at the moment. Not that alcohol was going to solve his problems. He needed to figure out his next move. Klaus wasn't about to let Caroline walk out of his life that easily. He had been persistent when she had been nothing but a passing fancy to him, but now that he knew he loved her…he would be a force to be reckoned with.

A few minutes later, the door opened, the white blinds swaying back and forth and clanging against the frosted window.

"Mr. Mikaelson, you're free to go," the security employee announced.

Klaus stood from the chair and walked out of the room, the guard walking behind.

"My effects?" They had taken his jacket, along with his phone, keys, and ID when they had detained him. The guard left and came back with his jacket. Klaus checked his pockets for the rest and then put it on. "Thank you."

"You're welcome Mr. Mikaelson," the guard said, "sorry about the arrest, procedure though. We're all big fans."

Klaus gave him a nod, and then headed in the direction of the exit. He opened the door that led to the security office hallways, pulling out his phone. The battery was almost flat. He hoped it would last long enough to make a call to Elijah and catch a cab back to Mystic Falls.

"Hey."

Klaus's head snapped up to see Caroline there in front of him. Her carry on suitcase was parked next to her feet. She stood from her seat on the bench across the hall and stepped toward him. "I finally convinced them that you were some terrorist so they'd let you go," she said, "not that I really needed to. They know who you are."

He blinked at her, wondering if he had somehow imagined this whole scenario. Or maybe Elijah had hit him so hard that he was lying on the floor of his kitchen, knocked out, and dreaming of this moment.

"You didn't get on the plane," he said stopping in front of her, relief flooding through him. He wouldn't have to chase after her or make any grand gestures. She was already here to give him his second chance. In his relief, Klaus missed the solemn expression on her face.

"Before you get too excited," Caroline said, "I'm taking a later flight. I'm still going to Chicago. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Klaus walked forward, reaching for her, but Caroline put her hands against his chest keeping some distance between them. Her eyes shut, her forehead wrinkling as she attempted to keep her composure. Klaus took her silence, and spoke up before she had the chance. He wasn't going to let her talk herself out of whatever conflict was going on inside of her head.

"I love you," he said. It was simple as that.

Caroline, her eyes still closed, replied. "I know. I know you do."

Klaus listened to her words. They were again what he wanted to hear, but he wasn't feeling any sort of happiness at hearing them. Her eyelids opened again and she looked up at him. "When I first met you, I had this conversation with Elijah about you. He said that he had been taking care of your messes your entire lives and I thought to myself, maybe that—for all his wonderful intentions-wasn't a good thing." She cupped his face, her thumb running across the red spot where Elijah had hit him. "We forgive you for all these things you do and brush them under the rug because we care about you Klaus, but we can't keep doing that. _I_ can't keep doing that."

Her eyes were filled with tears. Klaus's throat felt tight. She was really doing this. Really telling him goodbye.

Her words echoed what Elijah had said to him earlier. About taking care of him, about protecting him from experiencing consequences and feeling pain. Caroline was becoming another consequence of his stubbornness and impulsive attitude. He would learn the lesson, he promised, but he didn't want to learn it this way. Not now.

"Caroline," Klaus's voice pleaded with her to reconsider, "I can be the better man."

"I know you can," she replied, "and I know you will."

Caroline stretched onto her toes, so that her lips could touch his. She kissed him. A solitary, chaste kiss. Her lips warm and wet against his; her eyes closed to hold back the tears threatening to spill over. As she pulled away her hand trailed down to his chest, stopping over his heart. Caroline couldn't look into his eyes, scared that she would lose it if she did.

"Be happy," she said, "I love you."

Without allowing Klaus another response, she stepped away from his arms and rushed down the hall, turning around the corner and disappearing from his sight.

* * *

**Anyone feeling terrible? Good. It was painful to write, but necessary I feel. I know a lot of you would agree. After reading your reactions to the big fight and discussing it with some of you, you guys really felt that Caroline wouldn't just give in that easily. I agreed after I reread a lot of what happened. So she didn't. It makes me proud that you readers encourage the ladies to stand strong and not give in! :)**

**I loved wrapping up Katherine's story with Klaus and Elijah. Maybe you still dislike her...maybe you understand what happened a little bit better. There's always multiple sides to every story, it's been a little bit of an underlying theme in this fic. It hurt not to be able to have my Kalijah in this fic, but she'll be happy and she'll continue to be her troublesome awesome self ;) Also had to pay homage to one of my earliest crackships...Matherine!**

**Elijah's hit! That was another thing I loved including. Elijah has wanted to punch Klaus through this entire story (probably their entire lives). So it was about time in my opinion. **

**Ugh, okay I'll be done with my commentary and let you guys tell me what you think. **

**Stayed tuned for the epilogue in a day or two! It's done so I'll be quick to update!**

**Follow me on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


	20. Epilogue

_._

.

_8 months later…_

"Hey Caroline." Stefan Salvatore offered her a warm, shiny grin as he opened the door to his apartment and welcomed her inside.

"Hey Stefan," she said as she walked past the threshold and inside. "How's it going?"

"Good," he replied, "Lexi's still getting dressed. Can I get you a drink?"

"Sure," she replied, following him down the hall and toward the kitchen.

Caroline always loved coming over to Stefan and Lexi's place. It was exactly the type of apartment she hoped to be moving into very soon. Newly renovated with hardwood floors, two bedrooms, a spacious interior, and a private balcony over looking Michigan Avenue. It was the perfect place. They entered the kitchen, and Caroline set her clutch bag down on the granite island, as Stefan pulled out a bottle of wine. She removed her denim jacket, smoothing out her dress, and hung it on the back of one of the bar stools.

"Here," Stefan said, "Lexi has already cracked this one open tonight." He poured the red liquid and into the glass and passed it to Caroline. She sipped, tentatively, still not being a big fan of red wines. But, since moving to Chicago, she had been all about acquiring new tastes.

Behind them was the great room, the flat screened TV turned on in the background. Caroline could see an Xbox and two game controllers left out on top of the coffee table. She grinned. Stefan was a full-grown man, about to be a doctor, but he would always be a teenage boy at heart. Down the hall, Caroline saw the streak of Lexi's pale blonde hair whip past as she darted from the bathroom towards the master bedroom.

"Hey Care! Just give me ten minutes!" The woman shouted from the bedroom. Caroline laughed and looked at Stefan.

"If I had a nickel for every time Lexi said 'just ten minutes…'

"You could buy the Trump Tower," Stefan finished. "So what is the band you are going to see tonight?"

"Lovedrug." Caroline replied. "I listened to them today while I was working on that piece for The Reader. They sound good."

Lexi Branson, Stefan's girlfriend, was also a journalist and a big music fan. She covered concerts, albums releases, anything and everything to do with music in Chicago for a various number of newspapers. She also had her own blog dedicated to writing and recommending new artists and talent. With her job came many perks, and one of them was free concert tickets, so Caroline was accompanying her to see a new band that night at the Vic; a small concert venue on the Northside.

"They're amazing," Lexi said joining them in the kitchen, glass of wine in her hand, "too bad you will be missing out." She directed the last at Stefan.

Lexi was tall, with long straight blonde hair and a friendly face. Stefan had introduced her to Caroline not long after she had moved and they had become fast friends. She had grown up in the suburbs of Chicago, only leaving for a few years to attend school in New York, before deciding that her true home was in the second city. Lexi and Stefan met by chance one night at a Bon Jovi show and bonded over their love of 80s music.

"Far be it from me to encroach on girl bonding night," he replied, giving her a kiss as she slipped her arm around his waist.

Caroline smiled at the two of them. "Gross," she said, "get a room."

Lexi wrinkled her nose at Caroline while Stefan chuckled beside her. Caroline absolutely loved Lexi. She was fun and smart and one of the nicest people she had ever met. She could see why Stefan was so smitten with her and why they made such a good couple. Stefan had always been a quiet and serious guy in high school, and was still that way, so Lexi was the perfect contrast to his personality. The romantic in Caroline loved to see opposites attracted to one another. It reminded her of her own brush with a similar experience.

"Up next," the announcer on the TV said, "we have an exclusive chat with Niklaus Mikaelson, about his new movie, and his transformation from playboy bachelor to serious actor so stay tuned."

At the sound of the name, Caroline looked over his shoulder. She saw the clip of the interview-Klaus smiling and talking to the interviewer—before it cut to the commercial. He looked excited and happy about whatever he was saying in the clip. Without lingering over it to long, she turned her attention back to Stefan and Lexi, who were staring at her. Twin looks of concern on both their faces. Caroline rolled her eyes and attempted to be nonchalant.

"What?" She said taking a large sip of wine. "It's not like I haven't seen him a billion times on TV since we broke up. It's been eight months."

"Yeah but…" Stefan let the sentence trail off.

Caroline knew what he was thinking. Yeah but you cried every night for the first two months. Yeah but you barely talk to your best friend anymore so you don't have to risk thinking about him. Yeah but you haven't even dated anyone since then. Yeah but you still sometimes turn over magazines you see in supermarkets with his face on them.

"But…we're going to be late if we don't leave like, now," Lexi said jumping in. She gave Stefan a meaningful pat on his shoulder and left to grab her purse and jacket.

"Sorry Care," Stefan offered, "I just worry."

"I know Stefan, it's okay." She replied.

Honestly though, she was okay. Maybe she hadn't dated in a long time, which was weird because Caroline had always been a serial monogamist. But a girl couldn't always be attached to a guy. She was concentrating on her thriving writing career now and trying to move out on her own. She didn't have much time for boyfriends or dating. There had been a few sparse dates here and there, but none that ever led to a second. Either there weren't any sparks or the guy was too freaked out by the fact that she was Niklaus Mikaelson's ex to get past it.

Thankfully, the latter hadn't been too much of a problem. The media did seem to get bored with her rather quickly and moved on to terrorize other famous couples and celebrities. Every now and again, she would meet some press person at an event who would attempt to get an interview out of her about Klaus. A couple publishing houses had contacted her about writing "tell-all" books. But she declined them all, more than happy to put that part of her life behind her.

Giving Stefan a kiss goodbye, Lexi grabbed Caroline and went downstairs to walk toward the train.

"Those are awesome boots by the way," Lexi said gesturing toward the new, heeled leather boots Caroline was wearing as she strutted down the sidewalk.

"Thanks," she replied, "had to dip into the apartment fund to get them, but I couldn't resist."

"How's the house hunt going?" Lexi asked.

"Fine," Caroline said, "my dad isn't ready for me to move out, but I think he likes having me around since he didn't really get to grow up with me in the house."

"Understandable."

"Yeah. But I'm ready for the next step. I've got a great job, I get to travel, now I want a place of my own."

"Well good for you Miss Independent," Lexi winked.

* * *

The two women handed over their tickets and walked into the venue. It was a smaller and intimate concert theatre. Caroline had become accustomed to these types of shows now that she hung out with Lexi. In high school, she and Elena and Bonnie had gone to see their favorite pop bands perform in huge arenas where you could barely see the musicians'' faces. She had definitely come to love the smaller crowd shows a lot more. It almost reminded her of the few times she had seen Klaus preform in Europe.

Backstage, they could hear the band still tuning up and getting ready for their show. The crowd mingled around, sipping beer and chatting loudly as they waited. Caroline and Lexi had passes to the balcony over looking the stage and they ventured upstairs to their seats. Once they found their spot, Lexi excused herself, heading back to the bar to grab them a couple of beers, leaving Caroline to look around.

She was familiar with the old style of the theatre. The large, old walls were a rich blue color, trimmed with fake gold crown molding. Fancy gold reliefs of angels and faces stared out at the concert crowd and private boxes lined the left and right of the stage. It looked like an old world opera house to Caroline. Many of the seats around her were filled up; the general admission crowed standing below in front of the stage was heavy too. Even though Caroline had never heard of the band before Lexi mentioned them, the must have been popular to draw this much attention.

Her eyes were passing over the people in the private boxes when she stopped, and noticed someone staring. Her heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her throat as she made eye contact with Klaus, whose gaze was set directly on her. She blinked, wondering if her mind was playing tricks on her. Maybe it was just someone who looked like him and she only thought she was seeing him because she had been thinking about him so much that night. But as his lip curved into a tiny smirk, she knew it was actually Klaus she was seeing across the balcony. The one and only.

"Hey," Lexi said drawing her attention away. Caroline looked over at her friend and accepted the cup of beer she was passing toward her. Lexi noticed her odd expression and became concerned. "Everything okay? You look like you saw a ghost."

"Yeah," Caroline said, "I just-. A guitar chord was struck and the band started playing, cutting off any further explanation for her sudden change in mood.

Caroline eyes focused on the band and the show, but they could have been playing nursery rhymes for all she knew. Her mind was on the box kitty corner from her balcony seat, and the man in it. Everyone around her was dancing to the music and singing along, but it felt like no one else was in the room. She didn't dare look over at him again to check if he was still looking at her. The only glance she spared in his direction happened when the band finished playing and the show ended. She looked over at the box and saw that Klaus was gone.

"What'd you think?" Lexi asked turning to Caroline.

She forced a smile, feeling guilty that she hadn't been paying attention to the band during their set. "They were amazing. You were right."

"I always am," Lexi smiled, turning and heading toward the stairs.

Caroline followed her, feeling dejected. Her first real glimpse of Klaus in months and that was it? It had been so surprising, so unexpected…of all the places to see him. She hadn't even realized how excited it made her feel until after she got over the initial shock. They reached the lobby and Lexi turned toward her.

"So do you wanna split a cab or…"

"Caroline."

She heard his familiar accent calling her name. With a deep breath she turned in his direction. Why was she being so dramatic? It was Klaus after all. It shouldn't be that big of a deal. She was over him and their relationship. She had moved on and so had he. Eight months was a long time. There was no reason that she needed to be so crazy about seeing him. Talking to him. It would be nothing.

"Klaus," she returned brightly as he approached them, "I thought I saw you during the show."

Klaus stopped in front of her, a smile on his face. "I saw you as well."

Caroline couldn't help the way her stomach was doing flip-flops at the sight of his dimples. She hated it. Quickly, she grabbed Lexi's arm. "This is my friend, Lexi Branson," she said introducing them, "Lexi, this is Niklaus Mikaelson."

Caroline didn't know how to introduce him, oddly enough. She knew that to the rest of the world he was Niklaus, but to her he had always just been Klaus.

"Klaus, please," he said taking Lexi's hand.

"Klaus. You look familiar…have we met before?"

Caroline laughed, as did Klaus. Leave it to Lexi to fill an awkward moment with a joke.

"I'm about to head out for drinks," Klaus said, "would you both care to join me?"

"We were actually heading home," Lexi said stepping in. Caroline knew she was trying to be a good friend and save Caroline from any further unwanted interaction with him. She didn't know whether to be grateful or annoyed by her efforts.

"Allow me to give you a ride then," Klaus said, "I have a town car waiting."

Caroline didn't answer, choosing to let Lexi make the decision. After a moment's consideration, Lexi accepted and the two of them followed Klaus out to the street, where he was meeting his car. It was small and black. Caroline didn't have time to fret over the seating arrangement as the driver opened the door and Lexi pushed her in, sliding over next to so that she was between her and Klaus. He asked where they were going and Lexi gave the driver her address.

Caroline was silent for most of the ride. Lexi filled the time with small talk, saving her from having to think of things to say.

"So Klaus, what brings you to our humble city? Big Lovedrug fan?"

Klaus chuckled. "No," he replied, "not yet anyways. I'm starting a small indie record company. They're one of the bands I'm thinking of signing."

"You're starting your own company?" Caroline asked, surprised.

The amusement left Klaus's face and he locked eyes with Caroline across the car.

"That's interesting," Lexi interjected, "do you have any other bands signed?"

Klaus was polite and returned Lexi's questions with courteous questions of his own, making a few comments about her interest in music. It was a change, Caroline recognized. Klaus had never been a fan of small talk and had never cared much about being polite or getting to know anyone. And a record company? His own company? Where the hell had that come from? The car lurched to a stop next to the curb.

"This is us," Lexi announced as the driver opened the door. Klaus got out and stood on the sidewalk. Lexi slid out of the car and Caroline scooted after her, so she wasn't opening the door into traffic. "Thanks for the ride."

Caroline stopped for a moment, still sitting down. Her sensible side was telling her that what she was about to do was probably useless and stupid. But the other side of her was telling her that she should take a chance. It was funny that that side's voice in her head often sounded like Klaus. "Lex, I think I'm just gonna head home."

"I can take you," Klaus said before she had a chance to get up.

Caroline's eyes darted to his, missing the look Lexi passed the two of them.

"Okay," her friend conceded, "um, text me when you get home."

Caroline moved back into her original spot and Klaus got in and shut the door. A tense silence fell over the car as it pulled back into traffic. A couple moments passed before the driver requested Caroline's destination and she gave him her dad's address.

"Sorry I live back the way we came," Caroline said, "I should have just had him drop me off first."

Klaus put up a hand. "It's not a problem. Are you still staying with your father?"

"Yeah," she replied, "but I've been apartment shopping. Hoping to move within the next few weeks."

"By yourself?"

"Mhmm," Caroline nodded. They were silent again. Caroline looked out the window as the car drove over the bridge, across the Chicago River. The city lights reflected on the choppy water, flashing orange and purple and white. She let out a laugh. "Why is this so weird?"

Klaus smiled at her, not denying her point. "You tell me."

"It's been months," she said, "there's no reason why we can't talk like two normal people."

"I'm a world famous musician/actor," Klaus said, "we both know I've never been a normal person, love."

"Well glad to see you haven't lost your trademark humility." They both laughed, and Caroline felt relieved that the awkward tension seemed to deflate a bit. Her heart warmed at his genuine smile. It was one of the things she missed about him. Seeing it on TV earlier had been one thing, but seeing it up close and in person was better. "So you're starting a record company?"

"I've started it actually," Klaus explained, "just a small venture. It seemed like a logical step in my music career."

"I thought you never liked music," Caroline inquired.

"I don't like making music. But I suppose most of that had to do with Mikael and being forced into it." Klaus said, "But I do enjoy the business side of the industry. And running my own company allows me to cut Elijah loose."

"Cut him loose?" Caroline tilted her head. "Are you two not getting along?"

"It isn't that," Klaus sighed. "It's time for Elijah to move on. To be my brother, and his own man, instead of my guardian and gate keeper."

She nodded, and offered him an encouraging smile. Their hands rested on the leather seat, mere inches from one another. Caroline became aware of how close they were to touching and pulled her hand toward her lap.

"You've been well?" Klaus asked. "Happy?"

"Yeah," Caroline smiled, "you know, being in the city, writing, it's been great." Her eyes flicked over his face. "What about you?"

Klaus gave her one of his cocky smirks. "Oh, you know me," he answered cryptically.

A short while later, the car stopped on the street in front of Caroline's dad's home. Klaus got out of the car and walked around to open the door for her, instructing the driver to wait for him as he walked her to her front door. They stood on her father's porch; Caroline pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

"My dad and Stephen went on a weekend trip," Caroline rambled, "Stephen's been gone for almost six weeks in South America and now has like, two weeks off so they wanted some alone time to catch up and spend together."

Klaus nodded. "Are you sure you don't want to come for a drink? Just one?"

It was tempting, but Caroline shook her head. "No. I'm supposed to go out to brunch with some friends from the magazine tomorrow morning. I should get to bed."

Klaus took a step back, and watched her take her keys out of her purse and unlock her front door. She turned back to him and as she stepped inside.

"It was really nice to see you, in person," she said, "I'm really glad you're doing well."

Klaus pressed his lips together. "You as well Caroline."

He backed away and Caroline went inside. Closing the door and falling back against it. She banged her head back against the wood.

"Stupid," she muttered, closing her eyes in attempt to force down the feeling of regret rising up in her chest. Leaning against the door, she tossed her purse over to the table and dragged her hands down her face. What had she even been expecting?

A loud knock at the door startled her and she spun around.

"Caroline." She heard Klaus's voice on the other side of the door. "Open up."

Tentatively, she opened the door and saw Klaus standing there once again. His eyes were wide and serious and he licked his lips, preparing himself to say something big.

"Why?"

"Why what?" She asked, confused.

"Why did you leave everything so unresolved at the airport? Why did you leave?"

Caroline turned her face away, taking a deep breath. "Because," she said, "because we both needed to be on our own. You had issues and I had was dealing with stuff and we could never get on the same page with one another. Both of us were always jumping to conclusions and disappointing each other. If we let it go on any longer, it would have just hurt more in the end."

Klaus nodded, his lips pursed. "You're lying."

"Excuse me?"

"You're lying," Klaus repeated, "you left because you were scared. And I hurt you and let you go because I was." He spoke slowly, each word difficult for him to get out. Klaus wasn't the type of man who made long heart felt speeches or wore his heart on his sleeve. Caroline brought it out in him. "I've been miserable without you. Every time something good happens Caroline, you're the first person I think of. Every time I do something stupid, it's your voice I hear in my head. Not a day has gone by in the last eight months, two weeks, and four days that I haven't woken up and gone to sleep thinking about you."

Caroline hoped it was dark enough in the doorway that he couldn't see the tears in her eyes. Her arms hugged her torso and she shrugged, not knowing what she was supposed to say.

"You said you didn't love me." Her voice broke. She couldn't help it. It was the one memory she had, that eclipsed all of the good ones. The words had been the most painful for her to hear.

"I lied," Klaus said, "of all the horrible things I've done. Telling you I didn't love you was the worst."

Her jaw ticked back and forth; as she fought against letting herself cry. She didn't know if any of it should even make a difference. There were still too many things holding them back. The fame, the distance, all those obstacles from before still existed. They were two stubborn people, with separate lives that they would never give up. It would just be another trip down a bumpy road of heartbreak that she barely made it through the first time.

"Is there someone else?" Klaus asked when she didn't say anything.

She paused for a moment, before shaking her head. "No."

"Good," Klaus replied, "I wanted to be sure before I did this."

Caroline opened her mouth but her words were crushed as Klaus lips collided with hers. The kiss was something old and something new. He still kissed her with the same passion and demand she remembered that made her body tingle and her heart cry out. Klaus was different though. He wasn't the same selfish, devil-may-care man that she had met almost a year ago. The way he spoke, carried himself, acted, and looked all reflected the changed man he had become. He was still arrogant as hell, and impulsive, but he had become someone new.

Klaus's lips moved over Caroline's and her arms wrapped around his neck. He pulled her up and held her tight against his body, enjoying the feeling of having her pressed so close. After some minutes, Klaus pulled away, nipping a few extra kisses from her lips. She hadn't noticed, but a few rouge tears had escaped from her eyes.

"So what now?" She asked. "We just repeat history? Until I can't handle the fame or you can't handle the distance?

"You never seemed to care about those things before," Klaus said.

"Maybe I should have."

"Caroline," he said brushing back her hair and forcing her eyes to meet his, "I'll repeat history twenty times over if I have to. I will chase after you as many times as it takes. I have no interest in ever loving anyone else. I don't want you to love anyone else." Klaus smirked. "I will ruin your life Caroline Forbes and build it back up again, because I'm a selfish bastard who loves you too much and I will never let you go."

Caroline let out a half laugh, half sniffle, her eyes flicking away momentarily. "That sounds…creepily possessive."

Klaus chuckled, his thumbs wiping at her tears. "Well, you know me."

"Yeah," Caroline replied with a smile, " I do."

* * *

**THE END.**

**Well, that's all she wrote folks!**

**p.s. Lovedrug is an actual band...they been around forever and are one of my FAVES, so if you don't know them, give them a listen! Pink Champagne is one of my fave songs!**

**Hope you guys enjoyed the story! Thank you so so so much for the reviews and messages and love while reading! Every single word means so much to me and I am sending you all virtual hugs and kisses xoxo**

**Special thanks to my lovely beta, Kady aka Klausykins! She is a fantastic beta and writer and you should go read her stuff if you haven't! Love you my tumblr husband, thanks for keeping me motivated on this one ;)**

**I really hope you guys enjoyed this ending. I am not usually one for the usual wrap up marriage and babies and such. Of course I believe these two are OTP, but I'll leave it to your wonderful imaginations as to where they end up :)**

**You guys are my favorite and I hope you'll be with me for my next fic. And the one after that...and the one after that...and the one after...**

**visit me in the meantime on tumblr at hybridlovelies**


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